| |
ISLAMABAD : Pakistan's top judge was suspended after obtaining a series of promotions for his son, according to a list of charges filed by President Pervez Musharraf and published in newspapers Wednesday.
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was removed by Musharraf on March 9, also assembled a fleet of cars and demanded the use of planes that he was not entitled to, the allegations said.
It is the first time the charges against Chaudhry have been detailed. State media had previously only said that he was charged with misconduct and abuse of office.
"The reference by the president published in the media was leaked by Chaudhry's lawyer. But it is true," a senior law ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Chaudhry's legal team denied the "baseless" accusations.
"It is because of the baseless nature of allegations that the chief justice wants an open hearing into the presidential reference," Munir Malik, one of his lawyers, told AFP.
The suspended chief justice had been due to appear before Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council on Wednesday for the third closed-door hearing into the charges, but the hearing was postponed at the last minute until April 3.
The list of charges says Chaudhry "committed misconduct by employing his position to gain undue advantage for Dr Arsalan Iftikhar," his son.
"He unlawfully used his position as a judge and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to influence, harass and intimidate all concerned and compelled them to act in an unlawful manner," the list said.
His son was promoted rapidly through the health department of southwestern Baluchistan, despite not having passed a basic college exam, the charges say.
They alleged that Arsalan was transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency where he again landed a series of increasingly senior jobs.
Chaudhry then allegedly pushed officials for his son to be given a position with the police in Punjab province and arranged for him to waive some of the training.
The charges also claim that Chaudhry has the use of seven official cars, when he is only meant to have one, that he orders traffic to be stopped for his convoy and that he demands the use of aircraft assigned to senior government officials.
- AFP /ls
|
