March 20, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 30, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 19: A non-governmental organization (NGO) affiliated to the opposition People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has called for the presence of the representatives of international bodies associated with the judiciary in the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

The People’s Democracy Institute (PDI) of the Shaheed Bhutto Foundation (SBF), has written a letter to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and to the UN Rapporteur on Judges and Judiciary, urging them to play their role in ensuring the independence of judiciary in Pakistan, said an announcement of the party here on Monday.

“We request your kind authority to take cognizance of this development (judicial crisis) and raise this matter with the concerned authorities. We also urge you to emphasise upon the authorities for a free, impartial and public trial, which may also be witnessed by your representatives along with the representative of national and international bodies concerned with issues of independence of judiciary and human rights,” says the letter, written by SBF president Dr Kamal.

The letter says, “the suspension of the chief justice by Gen Musharraf is not only unprecedented and unconstitutional but also appears to be politically-motivated. Apart from illegally restraining the CJ, the government also appointed an acting CJ as the head of the SJC in a manner that was not warranted in the Constitution, as the next senior-most judge was bypassed on grounds of being non-available.”

Demonstrating a rare unity, it says, “the bar, the media, the political parties and the people all have protested against this ‘assault’ on the independence of judiciary and a judge of the high court and junior judges have even resigned as protest against “undermining of the judiciary.”

Through the letter, the SBF also informs the international jurists’ bodies about the police action against lawyers and protesters. “Media images of lawyers with skulls broken and bleeding have left indelible mark on the minds of the people. The suspended CJ was manhandled; his clothes torn and hair pulled in a bid to force him sit in an official car for appearing for the first time before the SJC,” it says.