Reinstatement of sacked judges: Protesters tear gassed in Islamabad

The Islamabad police fired teargas at supporters of the sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry protesting outside his official residence in Islamabad on Sunday, witnesses said. The protesters, including lawyers, political party workers and civil society activists, were stopped by riot police at the barbed barricade erected outside the residence of deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Police fired teargas at the protestors to disperse them and both sides threw stones at each other, an AFP photographer said. The protesters wanted to march towards Chaudhry’s residence and present him with flowers, but police stopped them, he said. Lawyers across the country observed “Black Flag Week” to press for Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s reinstatement, hoisted black flags over bar offices and organised conventions. President Pervez Musharraf sacked Chief Justice on March 9 last year on misconduct charges but the Supreme Court reinstated him in July. In November Musharraf again sacked Chaudhry and other judges under emergency rule, fearing they might disqualify him for contesting presidential elections while being army chief and president at same time. Chaudhry and his family have been living under house arrest at the official residence of the Supreme Court chief justice in a heavily guarded government residential area of Islamabad since November. Pakistan’s incoming government coalition partners Sunday said that the new parliament would reinstate the sacked judges. Aitzaz Ahsan, a senior lawyer for Chaudhry, welcomed the announcement.