Pak CJ hearing deferred to April 3

New Delhi: The hearing for Pakistan's suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary has been postponed to April 3.

The Supreme Judicial Council, which had been appointed to hear allegations against Chaudhary, was to hear the case on Wednesday.

Chaudhary's counsel said that the hearing was postponed to stop protests by Pakistani lawyers.

Lawyers and an opposition alliance of religious parties had called for protests outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

One of Pakistan's three deputy attorneys-general, Nasir Saeed Sheikh, on Tuesday, had resigned citing a crisis over government efforts to sack Chaudhary.

The suspension of Chaudhry on March 9 after unspecified accusations were made against him has infuriated lawyers and many ordinary Pakistanis, and has blown up into President Pervez Musharraf's biggest political crisis as a general election looms.

''I have resigned because in the current judicial crisis, it

was very difficult for me to perform my duties,'' Sheikh told

Reuters.

Seven judges have resigned this week to protest against the

Government's move to sack Chaudhry, which fuelled suspicion

Musharraf feared the independent-minded judge would not allow any attempt by the president to retain his post of army chief, which he is due to give up this year.

Justice Rana Bhagwandas will be sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan later on Wednesday.

Musharraf had suspended Chaudhary citing "misconduct and misuse of authority". He had served in the post since 2005.

(With inputs from Agencies)