April 18, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, April 17: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has termed the action against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as unconstitutional and illegal and demanded his immediate reinstatement.

Speaking at a press conference here PPP MNAs Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and Murtaza Satti and leader of the opposition in the District Council Rawalpindi Mian Imran Hayat said there was no provision in the constitution for suspending the Chief Justice or making him non-functional.

Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said the PPP would continue supporting the struggle by the lawyers’ community for independence of judiciary and rule of law.

He said a number of PPP leaders and activists have been arrested by the government frustrated by peaceful protests by the lawyers, political parties and the civil society, on the eve of the Supreme Judicial Council proceedings on Wednesday.

He said the 12-year-old son of a party worker master Basheer has been arrested after the police failed to arrest Basheer.

He claimed that Sunday Times had misquoted Ms Benazir Bhutto in the telephonic interview published by it. He said Ms Bhutto ruled out a deal with Musharraf while the paper had quoted her saying that she wants a deal with him.

He said Ms Bhutto was on record to say that democracy and military uniform cannot go together.

He challenged Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad to tell what were the contents of the deal which he claims was in final stages. He said contacts with the government were there but to name it as deal was inappropriate. He said emissaries of the government keep on coming with proposals, but these had always been rejected. “We have not agreed to their terms,” he remarked.

He said the PPP wanted free and fair elections, an autonomous Election Commission, and an independent neutral caretaker set-up. The PPP stands by its slogan of “Go Musharraf go”, he told a questioner.