| Lawyers protesting in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday beat up pro-government lawyers chanting slogans in favour of President Gen Pervez Musharraf. Lawyers in black coats gathered at the SC building in the morning ahead of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry’s arrival for a hearing of the presidential reference against him in the Supreme Judicial Council. One group of men wearing black coats shouted slogans in favour of Gen Musharraf, raising the ire of the lawyers who had turned up to support the CJP. They set upon the pro-government lawyers, including Jehangir Joji and Fayyazur Rehman, with punches and kicks and tore their clothes.The lawyers claimed that intelligence agents dressed as advocates had been sent to disrupt the demonstration. The pro-government lawyers – at least one of whom turned out to be a Punjab Assembly official - admitted that “a parliamentarian from Gujrat” had sent them to the SC to voice support for Gen Musharraf. No police case was lodged, ASI Shahid Mahmood said. |