Emergency clouds on Pak

Apparently perturbed by growing public support to suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry, the Pakistan government may impose a state of emergency in the country.

Not ruling out the possibility of imposing emergency, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the media here last night that "the Constitution provides provisions for imposition of emergency and has laid down certain conditions for it but this decision depends on the situation in the country."

His remarks follow massive public receptions accorded to Chaudhry while he was on his way to Lahore to attend a lawyers' convention.

The suspended Supreme Court chief justice set off on May 5 by road to the capital of Punjab province and it took him over 24 hours to travel a distance of about 300 km as thousands of lawyers and opposition activists greeted him all the way to Lahore, where he addressed the convention yesterday morning, instead of the night before when it was scheduled.

Aziz, whose reference of allegations of misconduct and misuse of authority against Chaudhry to President Pervez Musharraf has caused the biggest ever political crisis for the military ruler, did not explain provisions of the Constitution under which the government may clamp the emergency.

There is a provision in the Constitution to impose emergency and there are certain circumstances explained in the Constitution, which are required to impose emergency, state-run media quoted Aziz as saying while replying to a question.

About his decision to send to the President the reference of allegations against Chaudhry who was suspended by Musharraf on March 9, Aziz said the reference was prepared and handled purely in accordance with the Constitution and law.

He said the reference should not be used for political benefits and creating trouble among masses, the APP news agency reported.

The reference was with the five-judge Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which would decide on it, Aziz said. "Nobody in the country is above the law and it is only the Supreme Judicial Council that will take a final decision on it."

Aziz also rejected remarks by Chaudhry's lawyers that the public support for the suspended judge was a referendum against Musharraf.

The actual referendum was the big public meeting addressed by Musharraf on Saturday in Naukot in Tharparker, a minority Hindu-dominated town near the Indian border, where more than two lakh people participated, he said.