ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was unceremoniously removed from the office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on Saturday, hit out at President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday, describing the proclamation of emergency and the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) as a flagrant and naked attack on the Constitution, rule of law and the independence of judiciary.

“The acts of proclamation of emergency and PCO are highly unfounded, unconstitutional, illegal and without lawful authority,” the deposed CJ said in a statement.

The statement was read out to the press by Advocate Gohar Ali Khan, a lawyer closely associated with the panel which defended the Chief Justice when he was suspended by President Gen Musharraf on March 9.

“There is no justification for all that has been done in the last couple of days,” he said.

“The treatment meted out to the Hon’ble judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts after the proclamation of emergency is incompatible with all norms of decency, besides being unconstitutional,” he said.

“I am virtually arrested and so are my other learned brothers of the Supreme Court who refused to take oath under PCO,” he said, adding the main gate of his residence had been locked.

The deposed CJ said it was the duty of all citizens of this country and lawyers in particular to continue their struggle for the supremacy of Constitution, rule of law, independence of judiciary and real democracy.

About President Musharraf’s allegations against some judges of the superior judiciary of bringing harm to the three pillars of the state, he said the judges of the Supreme Court were exercising their jurisdiction in accordance with law and the Constitution while taking suo motu notice of grave violation of human rights.

“The bad governance forced people to approach the Supreme Court for remedy in those cases and the Court could not abdicate its jurisdiction or turn a blind eye to such situations and all Hon’ble judges of the Supreme Court are determined to do so in the future (Insha Allah),” he said.

“I on behalf of the judiciary deplore acts of terrorism in all forms and as a matter of fact the judiciary has always condemned such acts,” the deposed CJ said.

Soon after the proclamation of emergency, the judges of the Supreme Court who refused to take fresh oath under the PCO were put under house arrest presumably to prevent them from going to courts on Monday.

On Monday, the apex court presented a deserted look as all roads leading to the Constitution Avenue had been cordoned off and no one was allowed to enter the court premises.

A few lawyers were issued entry passes as they had to appear before a bench headed by new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar and Justice M Javed Buttar were other members of the bench.

Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum also appeared before the bench and requested to take notice of a news report that a seven-member bench had overturned the PCO and said since these judges had already been removed, they could not pass any order.

The bench stated that it had nothing on its record about overturning of the PCO by seven ‘former’ judges, but on the insistence of the AG it asked him to submit a written request so that it could recheck the court record.

Former SC registrar and secretary of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan Dr Faqir Hussain told Dawn that he had managed to reach his office in the Supreme Court building after a lot of hassle.

He said he had talked to many judges who had been confined to their residences in the judges’ colony and confirmed that they had been ‘rendered incommunicado’.

“We are very concerned and worried about their health because many of them need urgent medical attention,” he said, adding he had sent a doctor to the residences of some judges.

But a senior court official, who did not want to be named, said: “I could not attend the office today despite showing my identity to the security agencies manning the Constitution Avenue”.