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Gunmen fire on Pakistani opposition workers

From Syed Mohsin Naqvi
CNN

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Unknown gunmen opened fire early Saturday on political workers of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League in Karachi, killing three, police said.

The workers were putting up welcome posters for deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was scheduled to address a bar association meeting in the city later Saturday.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf removed Chaudhry from his post on March 9, accusing him of misusing his powers. The dismissal has sparked widespread demonstrations

Thousands of lawyers and political workers were expected to greet Chaudhry when he arrived in the city, but after the shooting, the atmosphere grew tense and uncertain.

A provincial high court ordered the provincial government to provide security for Chaudhry on his visit. According to police sources, more than 15,000 police officers will be deployed in Karachi along with paramilitary troops.

More than 800 political workers have been arrested, the sources said, adding that they were members of labor and student organizations who had planned to greet Chaudhry on his arrival. The police did not say why they had been arrested.

Opposition parties and lawyers groups have condemned the arrests, as well as the blocking of some of the main roads in Karachi with barriers. They vow to greet the chief justice "at any cost."

Meanwhile, Musharraf planned to address a public rally Saturday outside the National Parliament building in Islamabad as a show of his strength.

Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, speaking to CNN in London, condemned the killing of the Pakistan Muslim League worker and blamed the government for the incident. He said the government is harassing his and other opposition parties for their support of Chaudhry.

In another incident early Friday morning, unknown gunmen opened fire on Chaudhry's lawyer, Munir A. Malik, who is also president of the Supreme Court bar association, police said. Malik's house was damaged, but he and his family escaped unharmed.

Musharraf accused Chaudhry of misusing his powers. Chaudhry was subsequently placed under house arrest, a move that outraged many Pakistanis as well as attorneys who have boycotted the courts and has since been rescinded.

Pakistan's Supreme Court bar and many legal experts have said Musharraf does not have the constitutional power to remove the chief justice from the bench. So far, 14 superior and civil court judges and two deputy attorney generals have resigned over the matter.

Chaudhry was appointed to the court by Musharraf in 2005, but he recently started exercising independence from the government in a number of cases involving the disappearance of terror suspects and human rights activists.

The United States has tiptoed around the matter, partly because Musharraf is a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Musharraf's critics accuse him of removing Chaudhry in an effort to intimidate the judiciary ahead of crucial elections and a vote in parliament to extend his rule later this year.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday banned the media from discussing the legal battle being waged by Chaudhry, saying coverage should not interfere with the process.

The court issued the ban because of what it claims is a "campaign of making the honorable judges of the Supreme Court/members of the Supreme Judicial Council controversial" in broadcast and print media.

Journalists' organizations launched a protest against the ban, with reporters saying they were merely covering the story and have done nothing illegal.

In a statement Wednesday, the Supreme Court said special passes will be issued for reporters and lawyers to attend Chaudhry's hearing on the presidential reference filed against him, but no one else will be allowed to enter, the court said. It added that media coverage, discussion and analysis that impedes legal procedures will be treated as contempt of court.

Chaudhry's lawyers protested the decision and said they will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

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