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Mob attack on Pak supreme court

Pakistan grappled with its worst-ever constitutional crisis for the second day on Friday when an unruly mob stormed into the supreme court, forcing Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah to adjourn the contempt of court case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief.

Hundreds of Pakistan Muslim League (Sharief's party) supporters and members of its youth wing, the Muslim Students Front, breached the police cordon around the courthouse when defence lawyer S M Zafar was arguing his case.

A journalist rushed into the courtroom and warned the bench of an impending attack. Whereupon, the chief justice got up abruptly, thanked Zafar and adjourned the hearing.

While judicial members left the courtroom soon after, the mob entered it shouting slogans, and damaged furniture.

The unruly mob, led by ruling party member from Punjab Sardar Naseem and Colonel (retired) Mushtaq Tahir Kheli, Sharief's political secretary, chanted slogans against the chief justice.

The mob also beat up Pakistan People's Party senator Iqbal Haidar. The police managed to restore normalcy after baton charging and teargassing the mob, both inside and outside the courthouse.

Meanwhile, a number of prominent PML leaders, including Syed Zafar Ali Shah, who had refused to accept the chief justice in office on Thursday, regretted and condemned today's incident.

Expressing outrage, Ali said the development was ''a conspiracy masterminded to jeopardise the judico-political system in the country.''

Law Minister Khalid Anwar too termed it as ''pathetic.''

Incidentally, the country's most powerful caucus -- consisting of the president, prime minister, army chief and chief justice -- had a series of meetings Thursday night.

The talks lasted till early Friday. It was later given to understand that the president would accept the prime minister's recommendation to promote Ajmal Mian as the new chief justice.

The recommendation was made after the supreme court's Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta benches suspended the chief justice on petitions challenging his appointment. After their orders were challenged by other supreme court judges, they had urged the registrar to put up a case before Justice Ajmal Mian to call a full court meeting to resolve the issue.

In the midst of this latest crisis, the president's impeachment has been deferred for the time being. Efforts are being made to resolve the intra judiciary tussle with the army chief's intervention.

Meanwhile, a lawyer in Islamabad has filed a writ before the supreme court challenging the army chief's political role.

UNI

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