Pak may impose emergency

Apparently perturbed by growing public support to suspended Chief Justice Chaudhry, Pakistan government may impose emergency.

Apparently perturbed by growing public support to suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry, Pakistan government may impose emergency in the country.

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Not ruling out the possibility of imposing emergency, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the media in Islamabad on Sunday night that the Constitution provides provisions for imposition of emergency and has laid down certain conditions for it but this decision depends on the situation in the country.

His remarks follow massive public receptions accorded to Chaudhry while he was on his way to Lahore to attend a lawyers' convention.

The suspended Supreme Court chief justice set off on May five by road to the capital of Punjab province and it took him over 24 hours to travel a distance of about 300 kms as thousands of lawyers and opposition activists greeted him all the way to Lahore, where he addressed the convention on Sunday morning, instead of the night before when it was scheduled.

Aziz, whose reference of allegations of misconduct and misuse of authority against Chaudhry to President Pervez Musharraf has caused the biggest ever political crisis for the military ruler, did not explain provisions of the Constitution under which the government may clamp the emergency.

There is a provision in the Constitution to impose emergency and there are certain circumstances explained in the Constitution, which are required to impose emergency, state-run media quoted Aziz as saying while replying to a question.