March 05, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 26, 1429

ISLAMABAD, March 4: Deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry refused on Tuesday to allow his children to leave his residence under police protection saying that he could not trust police personnel.

Under pressure from continuing protests by lawyers and civil society activists outside the Judges’ Colony, the government had decided on Monday to relax restrictions and allow the children of the deposed chief justice to attend their educational institutions.

Advocate Athar Minallah, who is close to the family of Justice Iftikhar, rejected the government’s claim that family members were free to move. He said the deposed CJ’s children could not go to their school because no government official had contacted the family since morning, adding that the family as usual was locked inside and not allowed to move freely.

He told Dawn that police had locked all gates of the official residence of the deposed chief justice on Monday after a large number of lawyers, civil society activists and students made an unsuccessful attempt to march towards the Judges’ Colony. Police used teargas to disperse the protesters who had gathered outside the Balochistan House.

Later, the Islamabad administration sent a message to the deposed chief justice saying that his children could be escorted to their educational institutions.

According to Advocate Minallah, the deposed CJ informed the administration in unequivocal terms that he would allow his children to go to school only if his driver Farhat and gunman Abbas were allowed to resume their duty. “Only they could escort the children to their school,” Justice Iftikhar said.

Meanwhile, Bushra Aitzaz, wife of Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan, joined the lawyers’ protest rally outside the Balochistan House on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, she said Justice Iftikhar was being punished because he had buried the doctrine of necessity and wanted to see the rule of law in the country.

She said Justice Iftikhar was still the chief justice of Pakistan and would resume his duty soon after his release.

She appealed to the people to help make the ‘black flag week’ from March 9 a success to express their desire for an independent judiciary in the country.