ISLAMABAD, April 2: Stage is set for a massive protest outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday, coinciding with the appearance of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry before the Supreme Judicial Council.

Various political parties and civil society organisations have announced that they will participate in the peaceful demonstration planned by lawyers in protest against what they call an assault on the independence of the judiciary.

Leader of the House in the Senate, Wasim Sajjad, will lead the panel of lawyers from the government side during the hearing. He will be assisted by Khalid Ranjha and Raja Qureshi. Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan is also on SJC notice.

The panel of lawyers of Justice Chaudhry is headed by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and includes Supreme Court Bar Association President Munir A. Malik, Hamid Khan, Tariq Mahmood, Ali Ahmad Kurd and Qazi Mohammad Anwar. Qazi Anwar will not be appearing on Tuesday as he recently suffered a heart attack.

The SJC is likely to take up the objections raised by the chief justice that the acting chief justice has been appointed contrary to Article 180 of the constitution which provides that an acting CJ can be appointed only when the office becomes vacant.

A countrywide strike will be observed and processions taken out on the call of Pakistan Bar Council, the SCBA and the provincial bar councils in protest against the suspension of the chief justice.