The crisis generated by the suspension of Pakistan’s chief justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry took a turn for the worse on Thursday, when unidentified people fired gunshots at the residence of Munir Malik, one his main defence lawyers.
Malik said some 15 shots had been fired at his residence before dawn —two of which hit a room where his daughter was working on a computer.
“God was kind and no one was hurt,” he said. Malik, who is also president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said the attack was aimed at putting pressure on lawyers campaigning for Chaudhry’s reinstatement. Malik didn’t allow the police to enter his house till the arrival of the media and fellow lawyers as he feared they might destroy all evidence.
“It will not deter me from representing the chief justice and we will carry on our campaign for the independence of the judiciary,” Malik said.
Chaudhry’s suspension has led to a series of mass protests and calls for Musharraf to step down with the movement gathering momentum and the opposition parties also jumping into the bandwagon.
Zia Rizvi, a senior police official, said the investigators had collected the shells from the scene and were looking into the incident. “It was clearly done to harass the lawyer,” Rizvi said. The Sindh Home secretary, Brigadier Mohtaram, also said officials are probing the incident.
The incident comes just two days before Chaudhry’s Karachi visit for which lawyers and Opposition parties have planned a massive show of strength against Musharraf.
Tension is running high in Pakistan’s biggest city as the Mutthaida Qaumi Movement, which is a coalition partner of the Musharraf government, has also planned a rally on the same day.
Police arrested 12 persons here on Wednesday night for allegedly plotting to disrupt the rally. Chief City Police Commissioner of Karachi Azam Farooqi said the men were held with arms.
Mohtaram has requested Chaudhry to put off his planned visit to Karachi as the Sindh government has information that terrorists were planning to use the occasion to disrupt peace and attack the suspended chief justice and Opposition leaders.
A full bench of the Supreme Court has been constituted to hear Chaudhry’s petitions from May 12 on a day-to-day basis.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/30585.html
