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Islamabad: Unidentified gunmen broke into the house
of a senior Supreme Court official in Islamabad and murdered him
Monday, amid a surge of deadly violence over the suspension of
Pakistan’s top judge.
Syed Hamid Raza was killed in a
predawn raid just hours before the court in the capital opened and
then quickly postponed a hearing into the legality of charges
brought against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
“Unknown gunmen broke into the
house of Supreme Court additional registrar Raza and shot him
dead,” Islamabad police officer Mohammad Aslam told Agence France-Presse.
Police were still investigating
the motive for the killing, he said.
President Pervez Musharraf, a key
US ally, sacked Chaudhry on March 9, sparking a wave of protests and
plunging the country into the most serious political crisis of
Musharraf’s eight-year rule.
Sporadic unrest, meanwhile,
spilled into a third day in the southern city of Karachi, where
nearly 40 people were killed at the weekend in clashes between
progovernment activists and supporters of the chief justice.
Angry protesters fired in the
air, burnt tires and blocked roads in different parts of the
sprawling commercial hub late Sunday and early Monday, witnesses
said, although there were no reports of casualties.
Shops and schools were closed
while most public transport remained off the streets as local
authorities said in a statement they had called a public holiday to
“mourn the deaths of those killed” during the two previous days.
Troops were ordered to shoot
rioters on sight in Karachi on Sunday and authorities also banned
gatherings of more than five people in the city to prevent further
trouble.
Karachi police official Faqir
Ahmed said there was a “very tense situation” because ethnic
clashes had now developed between Pashtuns originally from the
Afghan border area and people whose families emigrated from India
after 1947.
Conservative Pashtuns who
normally wear traditional-style dress were attacking anyone wearing
western dress in at least two areas of the city, Ahmed said.
“I am a Pashtun but it was too
dangerous for me to go home as I was wearing cricket trousers,”
said Karachi resident Gul Rehman, 22.
Opposition parties called for a
second nationwide “black day” of strikes, business shutdowns and
protests over the bloodshed.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court
hearing into misconduct charges against Chaudhry was postponed
shortly after it began when one judge stepped down, suggesting there
could be a risk of bias due to “seniority issues.”
“On account of seniority issues
. . . it might be inappropriate for me to hear this case,” Justice
Falak Sher told the court.
The court was due to meet again
Tuesday after a new line-up of judges has been decided.
Military ruler Musharraf referred
a series of allegations, including that Chaudhry abused his position
to get top police jobs from his son, to a panel of top judges called
the Supreme Judicial Council on March 9.
However, the Supreme Court on May
7 suspended the judicial council’s inquiry after taking up a
petition from Chaudhry challenging the legality of his dismissal.
Opponents say Musharraf dismissed
him to ensure a pliant judiciary in case of legal challenges against
his intention to seek another five-year term as president-in-uniform
before November 16 from the outgoing parliament, which is stacked
with his supporters.
--AFP
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