Thousands cheer suspended Pakistan judge

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Pakistani lawyers shower rose petals on the suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (C) upon his arrival at the district bar at Chakwal in Islamabad.

FAISALABAD, Jun 17 (AFP): Thousands of Pakistanis braved the rain here Sunday to cheer the country's top judge, keeping the pressure on President Pervez Musharraf to end a crisis over the chief justice's ouster.
About 5,000 lawyers and opposition party activists camped out through the night to greet Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as he arrived in the eastern city of Faisalabad, completing a two-day journey from the capital Islamabad.
The trip is the latest in a series of processions undertaken by the judge since Musharraf suspended him on March 9 on misconduct charges, sparking the biggest crisis of the military ruler's eight years in power.
"The struggle will continue until we have an independent judiciary," Chaudhry's supporters shouted as his motorcade arrived early Sunday in Faisalabad, to the tune of beating drums and booming firecrackers.
In a speech to the cheering crowd, Chaudhry avoided direct criticism of Musharraf, but made another impassioned plea for judicial independence and urged his supporters to keep up their campaign.
"The organs of the state cannot function properly unless there is separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution," he said.
"You have struggled for the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law for the past three months and you should remain united and shun your petty differences for this greater cause."
"A society can only be successful when there is supremacy of the constitution," Chaudhry said, citing several cases in which he had helped the country's poor to get justice through the courts.
Nearly 60,000 Pakistanis turned out to support Chaudhry during his 290-kilometre (180-mile) trek from Islamabad to this central industrial city, waving flags and showering him with rose petals during the 22-hour voyage.