Police stops Sharif from meeting ousted CJ

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif was prevented by the police from meeting deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudry on Thursday. Chaudry is in virtual solitary confinement at his home in Islamabad since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in the country in November.

Sharif and scores of his supporters were barred by a large police contingent from going to the Judges Colony located in a high-security enclave in the heart of the city.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers shouted slogans against the government and demanded the reinstatement of judges sacked for not endorsing the emergency imposed by Musharraf on November 3.

Making a short speech outside the colony, Sharif told cheering supporters waving the PML-N flags that the sacrifices made by the deposed judges would not go in vein. He vowed to continue his campaign for the reinstatement of the judges, saying this is the only way to ensure free and fair parliamentary polls.

Sharif also lauded the media for standing up to the curbs imposed by the government under emergency rule, and condemned the military regime for forcing news channels to axe employees who were critical of the administration.

Meanwhile, the deposed Supreme Court judges, who were 'retired' through an official notification issued by the law ministry, have been asked to vacate their accommodation in the Judges Colony.

Justice Rana Bhagwandas, one of the deposed judges, said ousted Chief Justice Chaudhry is 'completely under solitary confinement' and is not even allowed to take a walk on the lawns of his bungalow in the Judges Colony.

Coverage: Emergency in Pakistan

"All the (deposed) judges are virtually under house arrest and can only move about in the Colony. The Chief Justice is completely under solitary confinement because he is not allowed to move out of the house and no one is permitted to visit him," Bhagwandas told Dawn News channel.

"I asked him whether he was able to have a walk in the huge lawn around his bungalow and he regretted that the police forces around the bungalow would not permit him to have a free walk alone or with his wife," he said.

Bhagwandas was also critical of the eviction notices served on the deposed judges, pointing out that there were many vacant houses and bungalows within the Judges Colony. Besides, he said, the judges who were sworn in after the imposition of emergency had already been provided official accommodation.

"The action was absolutely extra-constitutional, illegal and immoral and meant to demoralise and harass the deposed judges," he said.

"It is for the civil society, legal fraternity and political parties to espouse the cause of the judges if they want democracy to flourish in the country. No country can survive without an independent judiciary. No political activity can take place unless there are free and independent courts to dispense justice," Bhagwandas said.

Musharraf ousted all judges who refused to endorse the emergency within hours of imposing the measure. Most of the deposed judges are under virtual house arrest in Islamabad and other cities.