Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry declined to resign on Saturday – a day after he was suspended for “misuse of authority” – and showed intent to challenge a presidential reference against him. “I will never resign voluntarily ... I have done nothing wrong,” Chaudhry told Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Munir A Malik, who called the chief justice over the telephone in front of reporters. Malik assured the chief justice of lawyers’ moral and legal support, and advised him not to give in to pressure. Malik asked Chaudhry for permission to switch on his cell phone’s loudspeaker, so that the media could listen to their conversation, but the chief justice refused, saying, “Just deliver my message to the media”.
Malik claimed that the chief justice was not free to move, and the government was pressing Chaudhry to resign. Later, media and bar representatives waited for two hours in front of ChaudhryÂ’s house, but were not allowed to meet him.