By IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has accepted the resignations of two senior law officers who pleaded the government's case on suspension of the country's top judge.
Attorney General of Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan and his deputy Tariq Mehmood Khokar had earlier resigned following the Supreme Court's verdict last month reinstating Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
Musharraf had suspended Chaudhry March 9, accusing him of misusing his office to get a favoured posting for his son. The action triggered a nationwide agitation.
A 13-judge bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court rejected the government's case July 20 and ordered Chaudhry's reinstatement.
Musharraf Tuesday told official TV channel PTV that he was never in favour of "politicisation" of the country's judiciary and decided all matters on merit.
Regarding the presidential reference against Chaudhry, Musharraf said it was his constitutional obligation to forward the reference to the Supreme Judicial Council.
He said he had always held the judges in highest esteem. "I accept the judgement of the judiciary and honour it."
He said personal ego must not be a factor in matters of national interest. "Independence of judiciary is essential for the running of a government."
The president said he had personal relations with the chief justice. "We had family ties and hope to maintain same harmonious ties in future."
The four pillars of the state – judiciary, legislative, executive and media – "must learn to co-exist, remaining within their particular domain," Musharraf said, as quoted by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Dawn newspaper quoting unnamed official sources said Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan had been accused of pleading the government's case against the chief justice "in a lack-lustre manner".
Khan had also failed to point out flaws in the affidavits filed in the apex court by the government, the sources added.
There has been media speculation about Musharraf removing Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Law Minister Wasi Zafar and others who were supposed to have "misled" him, especially on legal and constitutional points.
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