ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A senior Pakistani lawyer said his cohorts will challenge the legitimacy of President Pervez Musharraf's re-election when the country's state of emergency ends.
Abrar Hasan, a senior lawyer in the Pakistani Supreme Court, said Thursday that his judicial colleagues planned to challenge the legitimacy of Musharraf's re-election if the state of emergency ends Saturday as expected, Voice of America reported.
Hasan said the termination of the state of emergency would allow the challenge that Musharraf "was not a validly nominated candidate, he could not have been elected, he was not in power to send 40 judges to their homes, he was not empowered to arrest lawyers, he was not empowered to do all these things, he had not authority to occupy the presidency."
Musharraf declared a state of emergency in October, suspending the constitution and blocking a Supreme Court ruling on the validity of his re-election. Several judges, including the chief Supreme Court justice, were relieved of their positions following the constitutional suspension.
Hasan said he and his colleagues would continue to speak out against Musharraf until all ousted judges are reinstated.
