JURIST - Paper Chase: Pakistan judges put off Chaudhry hearings as ex-PM speaks out against Musharraf

[JURIST] Judges in Pakistan have postponed two separate proceedings in the case of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] as criticism of President Pervez Musharraf's effective sacking of the country's chief magistrate [JURIST report] continues. On Wednesday the Pakistan Supreme Court announced a week adjournment of its hearing on the alleged manhandling of the Chief Justice prior to a Supreme Judicial Council disciplinary hearing one day after Supreme Court Justice Sardar Raza Khan refused to hear Chaudhry's constitutional petition [PDF] against his suspension, passing the matter up to the the court's Acting Chief Justice [JURIST report] for consideration before a larger bench or the full court. Khan said that he could not hear the matter as he has signed the original order authorizing Chaudhry's March 9 removal. The Daily Times has local coverage; Geo has more.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, overthrown by Musharraf in a military coup in 1999 and now in exile in London, was quoted in Pakistan media reports Wednesday as saying that Musharraf was pushing the country towards anarchy and civil war and that the struggle for judicial independence had become a national movement and a defining moment for the future of the country. PTI has more.

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