Cornered by the crisis in the judiciary, President Pervez Musharraf may shift the onus of the problem on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz even as the week-long restrictions on suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry were removed. Speculation was rife that Musharraf may axe Aziz who had forwarded the allegations of misuse of authority and misconduct to the President who had taken the action against the Chief Justice. Musharraf told at a rally in Punjab yesterday that the reference was prepared by the government against the Chief Justice and that he was bound under the Constitution to refer it to the Supreme Judicial Council. Musharraf’s assertions that he was merely performing a Constitutional duty in forwarding the reference prepared by the government, sparked off speculation that if it comes to the crunch, he could axe Aziz, the former Vice-President of the Citi Bank-turned politician. Meanwhile, officials here said Chaudhry was free to leave his home. One of Chaudhry’s lawyers, Tariq Mehmud said “however, they (officials) have clarified that there should be no mob, no procession and things like that.” The new clarification coupled with the announcement that Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, a Hindu judge who was next in the hierarchy, would be made Acting Chief Justice, a key demand of Chaudhry. A number of lawyers and politicians, including leaders of the Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Fazlur Rehman were allowed to meet Chaudhry after the government eased the restrictions. Barricades set up around his official residence were also removed by the police. The government also said today that Chaudhry was sent on compulsory leave following complaints against him. “The Hon’ble Chief Justice was sent on leave under Section 2 of the Judges Compulsory Leave Order 1970,” said Law Minister Wasi Jaffar. On March 9, the day Chaudhry was suspended by Musharraf, Jaffar had said that the CJ had become “non functional” following the reference sent by Musharraf to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The Supreme Court also conduct a special hearing here tomorrow against police officials who manhandled Chaudhry and his wife on March 12 when the judge was due to appear before the SJC that will hear allegations of misconduct and misuse of power levelled against him.
