The main allegations, as reported in the Gulf Times, are that “(Chaudhary) engineered his son’s appointment to a senior police post, unauthorised use of state transport, and issuance of contradictory written and verbal verdicts.” Chaudhary has denied all allegations and is currently refusing to resign.

The BBC reported major protests in cities across the country following Chaudhary’s suspension, while “lawyers, opposition parties, human rights activists and some judges have condemned the move as unconstitutional and a blow to the independence of the judiciary.” The BBC correspondent in Islamabad found that, “many in the legal community believe Iftikhar Chaudhary was dismissed because he took up cases unpopular with the government.”

In the run up to presidential elections tentatively scheduled for September or October later this year, the New York Times* cites two important cases that will come before the courts: “one challenging the legality of General Musharraf’s holding the posts of president and army chief simultaneously and one in which the court is asked to rule on whether the present Parliament can re-elect the general to another term as president.” Analysts cited by the Gulf Times speculated that the government may have feared Chaudhary would not have ruled in favour of Musharraf backing out of his commitment to quit as army chief this year.

On 7 May, the International Herald Tribune reported that the Supreme Court had stopped the proceedings of the judicial panel examining Chaudhary’s case until they had ruled on the 20 petitions filed against Musharraf’s suspension order. "’In view of the admitted fact that the present cases involve unprecedented, important constitutional and legal issues, let the matter be placed before the full court,’ the court's written ruling said.”

* The original New York Times article may be unavailable to some viewers as it was obtained using TI’s password protected subscription service.