2007年VOA标准英语-Anti-Musharraf Protests in Pakistan Show No Sig
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By Benjamin SandIslamabad
03 April 2007
Pakistan's suspended chief judge has appeared before a judicial1 panel in the capital, as a political street battle over his fate enters its fourth week. From Islamabad, VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand reports that lawyers and political activists2 continue taking to the streets in the thousands, protesting the suspension and calling for the Pakistani president to resign.
| Lawyers and activists of Pakistani opposition parties take part in an anti government rally at the Supreme Court in Islamabad, 03 Apr 2007 |
Thousands more joined similar demonstrations5 in major cities across Pakistan.
President Pervez Musharraf suspended Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on March 9 over unspecified allegations of abuse of power.
That sparked a firestorm of political protest that, more than three weeks later, shows no sign of dissipating.
Outside the Supreme Court Tuesday, opposition politician Raja Muhammad Asad Khan insisted that Mr. Musharraf must step down.
"He calls it a democracy, but this is not a democracy," he said. "This is not even a sham6 democracy. We are living in the worst kind of dictatorship, where the chief justice of Pakistan is handled like a common criminal."
Chaudry was inside the building, appearing before a three-judge panel that is reviewing the case against him, and will determine whether his suspension was valid7. The hearing was adjourned8 until April 13, and there is no indication when a decision might come.
President Musharraf insists he acted constitutionally in suspending Chaudry, and has promised to abide9 by the panel's decision.
The president's critics say Mr. Musharraf acted out of self-interest. They say a legal challenge might be made to Mr. Musharraf's plans to run for re-election, and that challenge might have ended up with Chaudry, a notoriously independent judge who has ruled against the president in the past.
Political analysts10 here say the current political storm may be the greatest challenge Mr. Musharraf, an army general, has faced since taking power in a military coup11 in 1999.
Few experts think the controversy12 will actually topple the embattled president. But many say it has given the opposition some needed ammunition13 against him, and will likely keep him on the defensive14 for at least the next few months.
