Pak ex-chief justice was corrupt, Musharraf tells Western media

President Pervez Musharraf reportedly distributed a 15-page letter to the Western media in London to establish that ousted and detained Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was corrupt and was rightly dismissed on March 9 followed by his detention on November 3.

London, Jan.31 : President Pervez Musharraf reportedly distributed a 15-page letter to the Western media in London to establish that ousted and detained Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was corrupt and was rightly dismissed on March 9 followed by his detention on November 3.

According to the Dawn, Musharraf took this unprecedented step after the media challenged his democratic credentials for sacking a chief justice and then putting him under house arrest.

The major allegations against Chief Justice Chaudhry included the fact that he had triggered judicial activism, indulged in nepotism, had frequent interaction with Pakistani media, intelligence chiefs, military officers, president, prime minister, politicians, and most importantly, he was fond of protocol and harassing the respectable civilian bureaucracy.

One source said the letter contained the same allegations that were made part of the judicial reference that was sent to the supreme judicial council on March 9 that was later thrown out by a full bench of the court on July 20, last year on the basis of lack of evidence against Chaudhry.

The President's press secretary, Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi confirmed to The News from Islamabad that the copies of the judicial reference were distributed to apprise the international media of the real situation on the judicial crisis in Pakistan.

Major General Qureshi claimed that there was nothing wrong in what had been done with Chaudhry, as the judicial crisis had already become an international issue.

According to available documents a four-page copy of a personal profile of the chief justice was also handed over to the British media in addition to a four-page letter President Musharraf had written to William Neukon on December 26, 2007 to explain why he had to take action against the country's chief justice.

ANI