Pak acting CJ to take charge today

New Delhi: Rana Bhagwan Das will take charge as the Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan in Islamabad on Monday amid nationwide protest against the dismissal of his predecessor Justice Ifthikhar Chaudhury.

Justice Bhagwan Das was sworn in as Acting Chief Justice on Saturday amid a judicial crisis embroiling the country following the suspension of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry from the post of Chief Justice last week.

Justice Das will become Pakistan's first Hindu Chief Justice, a move that is now being protested by the fundamentalist MMA party. The party says only a Muslim should be made the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Bhagwan Das, who will now head the judiciary watchdog Supreme Judicial Council which is examining the case of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has said the decision on the reference would be taken strictly according to the law and Constitution.

The panel hearing the accusations against Chaudhry is due to hold its third closed session on April 3. Justice Chaudhury has challenged the Supreme Judicial Council, saying that he did not expect a fair inquiry because of the composition of the panel. He has also demanded a public hearing.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani police detained hundreds of Opposition activists on Sunday ahead of a protest against President Pervez Musharraf's move to sack the country's top judge.

The police said they are taking no chances. About 150 political activists belonging to the umbrella Opposition front — the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy — have been taken into custody in various parts of the country.

The suspension of Chief Justice Chaudhry on March 9 has infuriated lawyers, Opposition activities and many ordinary Pakistanis who consider it an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

Two exiled former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, earlier this week met in London and called on their supporters to stage rallies on Monday to denounce the move which has snowballed into the biggest political crisis for Gen Musharraf in the run-up to his attempt to seek a second term.

The move also fuelled suspicion that Gen Musharraf feared that Chaudhry might block any attempt by the President to keep the office of Army Chief, which he is due to relinquish by this year.