Suspended Pakistani judge warns against dictatorship

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's suspended chief judge told thousands of cheering supporters on Sunday that dictatorship was a thing of the past and states that ignored the rule of law and basic rights faced destruction.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived in the city of Lahore on Sunday after tens of thousands of supporters turned out to greet him as he traveled by road from Islamabad. The trip takes four hours but took him more than 20.

Speaking in the compound of the Lahore High Court to thousands of lawyers, 17 of Punjab province's 23 judges, and opposition activists outside on the street, Chaudhry made no direct reference to President Pervez Musharraf or his government.

But his message was clear.

"Nations and states which are based on dictatorship instead of the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law and protection of basic rights get destroyed," Chaudhry said.

The government moved to sack Chaudhry on March 9 but the legal community and opposition saw Musharraf's move as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

The authorities' heavy-handed ways and Chaudhry's refusal to resign transformed a judge who was unpopular with many lawyers into a cause celebre.

The crisis has blown up into the most serious challenge to Musharraf's authority since the army chief seized power in 1999.

Well-wishers threw rose petals and clambered over Chaudhry's four-wheel-drive car throughout his journey from the capital.

"I was among the many people who welcomed Musharraf when he took over but he wants no checks. He wants a free hand for everything but that's not fair," said Abdullah, 70, a farmer who waited in the town of Kharian to greet Chaudhry.

Huge crowds waving opposition group flags and chanting anti-Musharraf slogans greeted Chaudhry as he arrived in Lahore, where he later made an open-air address.

"The idea of dictatorship and collective responsibility are over," he said. "They are chapters from the past and those nations which don't learn lessons from the past and repeat those mistakes, they have to pay a price."

As Supreme Court chief, the independent-minded Chaudhry took on rights and environmental cases and last year blocked the sale of Pakistan's biggest steel producer because of irregularities.

In his speech broadcast live on private television, an exhausted-looking Chaudhry, 58, said the Supreme Court had the right to take up basic human rights which he said were the backbone of a civilized society.

POLITICAL CITY

Lahore is capital of Punjab, the country's richest and most populous province and a traditional establishment stronghold.

The city is considered Pakistan's political nerve center and Chaudhry's tumultuous reception will be seen as a clear sign to authorities that their efforts to contain the crisis were failing, observers said.

"I haven't seen anything like this since 1986 when Benazir returned," said Fakhr Imam, a former National Assembly speaker and a leader of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's party.

He was referring to the crowds that turned out when Bhutto returned from exile, seven years after the military executed her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Musharraf has accused lawyers of politicizing a judicial matter and has called on them to shun politics.

Musharraf is due to seek re-election in September or October. Controversially, he wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections expected to be held at the end of the year.

Analysts say his main motive in seeking Chaudhry's removal is to have a more pliable man in place in case of a constitutional challenge to his plans.