A human rights watchdog has flayed the Pakistani government for not allowing Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to move freely despite a recent announcement by the military regime that they are no longer under house arrest.
Police in Islamabad had locked the main gate of the residence of Chaudhry after he attempted to go to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The sacked chief justice and his family have not been allowed to move out of their house in the Judges' Colony, where senior judges are provided state housing, since the imposition of emergency in Pakistan by President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, the Human Rights Watch reported.
"Rather than making ridiculous statements that signal no consequences for Musharraf's dictatorial moves, the United States should suspend further dealings with him and the army until he releases these judges, restores them to office, and reverses the state of emergency," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The United States-based watchdog said that other deposed judges were being allowed to move only within the compound of their residences and prevented from going out.
Chaudhry and 10 other judges of the apex court who did not endorse the emergency, were sacked and placed under house arrest.
While Chaudhry and five other Supreme Court judges remain confined to the Judges' Colony, at least another five apex court judges are under house arrest in the central city of Lahore, the HRW said in a statement.
"It's disgraceful that Musharraf is punishing Chief Justice Chaudhry, who challenged his power-grab, by keeping the judge's family under house arrest," Adams said.
"Musharraf should end his ugly vendetta against the judges and free Chaudhry, his family and the other judges immediately," Adams added.
Pakistan interior ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema had earlier said that all the deposed judges are free to leave their homes, adding they (the judges) were living in their official residences here at "their own choice".
However, Human Rights Watch said the judges claimed before the watchdog that they were still being forcibly confined.
Justice Rana Bhagwandas was quoted by the HRW as saying that while he and four other judges under house arrest were allowed to move about within the compound, the deposed chief justice and his family remained prisoners in their home.
The agency has urged the international community, particularly the United States in its capacity as Musharraf's major ally, to demand the immediate release and restoration to office of all detained judges including Chaudhry.
It reiterated its call to the US and the United Kingdom to impose comprehensive sanctions on all military and economic aid to Pakistan, with the exception of humanitarian aid, unless Musharraf moves immediately to rescind the Provisional Constitutional Order, restore the judiciary, end the state of emergency, remove restrictions on the media and release all political detainees held since November 3.
"President Bush says that Musharraf hasn't 'crossed the line' in his lack of commitment to democracy, but the Pakistani ruler keeps locking up his critics, including Chief Justice Chaudhry," Adams said.