Attempting to quell protests over the suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Pakistan Government has promised to abide by the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in the matter, but ruled out withdrawing charges slapped on the top judge.President Pervez Musharraf said that any attempt at politicising the issue would be dealt with sternly, an official statement issued at the end of a meeting to discuss the biggest crisis of his eight-year-old reign, said. During the last meeting, Musharraf told Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Parliamentarians of the ruling PML(Q), that they should not allow “vested interests” to get any political mileage out of a purely constitutional matter.“All provisions of the Constitution were strictly observed by the Government while filing a reference in respect of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry,” the statement quoted Musharraf as saying.“The Government is committed to upholding the sanctity and supremacy of law, and will accept whatever verdict is given by the Supreme Judicial Council,” he added. If the lawyers’ community had some grievances, they should register their protest in a peaceful manner and should not allow anyone to politicise a judicial matter, Musharraf added.Aziz said that the Government had no plans to withdraw the reference against Chaudhry containing allegations of misconduct and misuse of authority, which the SJC would take up on April 3. Meanwhile, thousands of Pakistani opposition activists staged on Monday their biggest rallies yet against Musharraf's removal of a top judge that has left him open to accusations of entrenching military rule.About 3,000 people gathered in Karachi carrying party flags and chanting “Go Musharraf go!” and “Friends of America are traitors to the nation.”Thousands more attended similar rallies in Lahore, Multan and other major cities, though the overall turnout appeared modest.Sensing the vulnerability of General Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, former prime ministers-in-exile, said their supporters would hold protest rallies.Monday’s nationwide rallies were the first called jointly by the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, which groups Pakistan’s main opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-N, both of them led by former prime ministers living in exile.Meanwhile, Rana Bhagwandas, who assumed office as acting Chief Justice on March 22, arrived in Islamabad on Sunday to head the judicial panel that will hear the charges against Chaudhry. Bhagwandas is the first Hindu to head the highest court of Pakistan. The panel is scheduled to resume hearings in Chaudhry’s case on April 3.
