By IANS
Islamabad : The Pakistan Supreme Court may deliver its verdict on the suspension of the chief justice next week, one more source of anxiety for president Pervez Musharraf who emerges from the Lal Masjid operations with accolades abroad but growing anger among Islamist extremists at home.
Both issues have been perceived as top crises for Musharraf and the country as well.
The apex court's 13-member full bench said Wednesday it might decide Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry's petitions against the presidential order by Thursday or Friday next week.
Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday, who heads the bench, directed both sides to conclude their arguments on time.
He asked government lawyers Sharifuddin Pirzada and Malik Qayyum to conclude their arguments by next Wednesday. The next day, the bench will hear the rejoinder from Chaudhry's lead lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and then conclude the hearing for final judgement, Daily Times said Thursday.
Analysts noted that by indicating that a verdict may be delivered on Friday, the court conveyed that it would not take long to consider arguments on both sides.
Chaudhry's suspension on March 9 by Musharraf, who accused Chaudhry of misusing the office of the chief justice for getting a favoured posting for his son, has triggered a nationwide agitation.
In the course of the hearing, Ramday last month termed Chaudhry's suspension and the developments that have followed as "a crisis".
The bench, which rejected the government's move to have the presidential reference heard by the Supreme Judicial Council, a body of judges from federal and provincial courts, took up the matter itself.
It has made several observations that are critical of the government and seek to uphold the judiciary's independence vis-Ã -vis the executive.