Musharraf sacks chief justice for 'misusing authority'
Mar 9, 2007 - 7:16:00 PM
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The Hasba Bill allows for the creation of a force of religious police controlled by Islamic clerics, similar to the Afghan Taliban's Department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Islamabad, Mar 9 - President Pervez Musharraf Friday sacked Chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry for allegedly misusing his office and influence to promote his medico son and get him a job in the police.
Justice Javed Iqbal has been named as Acting Chief Justice.
Ironically, Chaudhry had been associated with some pro-active legal and constitutional actions.
Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani, announcing the sacking, cited 'misuse of authority' by Chaudhry. He said that the president had submitted the case to the Supreme Judicial Council, the Associated Press of Pakistan - reported.
Musharraf filed a reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan under section 209 of the constitution Friday morning.
Durrani gave no more details.
Musharraf had received 'numerous complaints and serious allegations of misconduct, misuse of authority and actions prejudicial to the dignity of office of the chief justice of Pakistan', and Chaudhry had been unable to give a satisfactory explanation, the news agency said.
Chaudhry, the country's 20th chief justice, had been in office since June 30, 2005. He was then the senior most and had been appointed to the post by Musharraf.
Lawyer Abdul Waqeel Minhas had lodged a complaint with the National Accountability Bureau - accusing the sacked judge's son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, of corruption and abuse of power, Daily Times said Friday.
Minhas asked the NAB chairman to order an inquiry under Articles 27, 25 and 178 of the Constitution and NAB laws.
Minhas charged that Arsalan, using his influential position, went to the Federal Investigation Agency on deputation and later joined the police as an assistant superintendent of police, though he was only a doctor.
He reportedly gave Central Superior Service examinations twice but failed, getting only 16 out of 100 marks in English. A case against Arsalan is pending in the Balochistan High Court, according to Pakistan Online.
Chaudhry has also been charged with 'ignorance of merit in some of the decisions made by him', it said quoting unnamed sources.
The sacked chief justice had last year suo motu taken up the case of 'missing' persons, allegedly picked up for interrogation by the country's intelligence agencies and held illegally without trial.
The case has since been converted into a constitutional petition and at its last hearing on Thursday, Chaudhry, heading a bench, had issued notices to the government to explain why 199 people were missing and could not be traced.
He also issued a directive to the North West Frontier Province governor not to assent to the controversial Hasba Bill passed by the assembly in defiance of the liberal policies being pursued by the Musharraf regime.
The Hasba Bill allows for the creation of a force of religious police controlled by Islamic clerics, similar to the Afghan Taliban's Department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The Hasba bill also proposed powers for religious police to ensure observance of Islamic practices and values while curbing palm reading and other superstitious customs deemed un-Islamic by the hardliners.
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