Iftikhar Chaudhary

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf offered to "accommodate" Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in return for his resignation on March 9.

But Mr. Chaudhary refused and was detained in the President's Army House office for five hours, watched over by the chiefs of the country's three top intelligence agencies, before being sent back home in his car stripped of its official emblem and national flag.

In a sworn affidavit to the Supreme Court, Pakistan's "non-functional" chief justice has for the first time revealed these and other details of the landmark day that triggered the ongoing protests against President Musharraf.

The apex court is hearing a constitutional petition by Mr. Chaudhary challenging the reference against him. A full court is holding daily hearings on the petition. Government lawyers reportedly appeared surprised at the Chief Justice's affidavit that his lawyers believe has strengthened his case before the court.

A lawyer for Mr. Chaudhary told The Hindu the affidavit established the "malafide" of President Musharraf in taking action against the Chief Justice.

Pervez Musharraf

"It establishes that he was asked to resign, that the President had made up his mind to remove him, that there was no reference ready at the time, and that the Chief Justice was detained in Army House," said Munir A. Malik, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who is in the legal team arguing Mr. Chaudhary's case.

It also portrays Mr. Chaudhary as standing up not just to Gen. Musharraf, but the entire Pakistan establishment, most of it uniformed. A court will accept the contents of an affidavit as facts and act upon it unless the other side files a counter-affidavit.

In the eight-page affidavit, the chief justice says during his 30-minute conversation with President Musharraf, the Prime Minister, the heads of Military Intelligence, Inter-Services Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau, along with the army chief of staff and another official were also present.

The President read out the charges against him from pieces of paper with notings on them, and not from a prepared document. Mr. Chaudhary denied the charges, but the President insisted he resign, promising to "accommodate" him if he stepped down.

Bigger embarrassment

But refusal would mean facing the reference, which would become a bigger embarrassment, the President told Mr. Chaudhary.

The Chief Justice's refusal, the affidavit says, "ignited the fury" of President Musharraf who "stood up angrily" and left the room along with his military secretary, chief of staff and the Prime Minister.

The three intelligence chiefs remained with the Chief Justice, and for the next five hours, he was held "absolutely against his will."

Mr. Chaudhary was allowed to go after 5 p.m., but only after being told by the head of MI that "this is a bad day, you are taking a separate way and you are informed that you have been restrained to work as a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of Pakistan."

The staff officer to the Chief Justice, who had been waiting outside throughout the day, informed him that an acting Chief Justice had already been sworn in. The car that took him home did not fly the flag of Pakistan or carry the Supreme Court emblem anymore.

The affidavit also details how plainclothes policemen and intelligence officials were "all over" his residence. By the time he reached home, his phones had been disconnected, and his cell phone, internet and cable television had been jammed or disconnected. Mr. Chaudhary said he and his family "were completely cut off for several days from the outside world."

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