Protests during hearing into suspension of judge; ADDS more rallies
(24 Apr 2007) 1. Wide of protesters outside Supreme Court campaigning for the reinstatement of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry 2. Protesters marching with political party flags 3. Protesters chanting slogans against Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf 4. Lawyer shouting into megaphone 5. Lawyers holding banners and chanting 6. Woman chanting anti-Musharraf slogans UPSOUND: (English) "Go Musharraf go." 7. Top shot of lawyers carrying banners and chanting 8. Lawyers surround car with Chaudhry in UPSOUND: (English) "Go Musharraf go." 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Saradar As Abdullah Khan, High Court Barrister: "We cannot be intimidated. We are allowed even to lay down our lives for this cause which is the cause to save the judiciary and save Pakistan." 10. Close-up of a Paramilitary Ranger's gun, other members of security force in background 11. Protesters with colourful flags and banners behind barbed wire barrier 12. Wide pan of police and paramilitary security forces standing in line to separate groups of pro and anti-government demonstrators 13. Police standing in front of barbed wire fence, demonstrators behind fence chanting slogans of support for Musharraf's government 14. Police line and barbed wire fencing separate opposing groups of demonstrators 15. Pro-government demonstrators holding placards and chanting pro-Musharraf slogans 16. Mid of man chanting slogans of support for Musharraf's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) 17. Men holding banners shouting slogans of support for Musharraf UPSOUND: (Urdu) "Go ahead Musharraf! We are with you!' 18. Anti-Musharraf protesters shouting back 19. Wide of police and protesters STORYLINE: Pakistani police separated supporters and opponents of President General Pervez Musharraf as the two sides held rival rallies in the capital on Tuesday during a hearing on a top judge's contentious suspension. Lawyers and opposition activists have organised several protests since Musharraf removed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on March 9, triggering a political crisis that is testing the president's hold on power. The government insists it suspended Chaudhry only after receiving credible complaints that he had abused his office - one allegation suggests he used his position to seek a job for his son with the police. Critics however, accuse the government of trying to oust an independent-minded judge ahead of possible legal challenges to Musharraf's continued rule. Chaudhry has denied the charges, and vowed to fight for his job. About 600 supporters of the ruling PML-Q party joined the fray on Tuesday for the first time, marching from their party headquarters toward a court in the centre of the government district in the capital, Islamabad. They halted at one end of a broad boulevard leading to Parliament, where police had laid coils of barbed wire across the asphalt. About one-thousand opposition activists and lawyers massed near an identical barrier about 200 metres (yards) away. Hundreds of riot police lined up to prevent anyone from climbing over the wire or sneaking around it. Some of the government supporters carried pictures of the president in his military uniform. They chanted, "Go ahead Musharraf! We are with you!' The PML-Q supporters later dispersed without incident. Similar rallies were held in other cities including Lahore and Karachi. Opposition parties complain that police have rounded up hundreds of their activists in an attempt to hamper the protests. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
