Riot police in Islamabad fired tear gas today and detained dozens of protesters - including an opposition leader and President Musharraf's predecessor as president - as demonstrations spread over the Government’s sacking of Pakistan’s chief judge.

Hundreds of lawyers and opposition activists have taken to the streets across the country following last week’s suspension of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, over unspecified allegations that he misused his office – a charge he denies.

The incident has led to warnings of a constitutional crisis. As well as sparking violent unrest, the dismissal has united Islamist and secular opposition to the Government as well as triggering international condemnation of General Musharraf.

Critics accuse President Musharraf of seeking to stifle the judiciary into compliance ahead of national elections in which he is expected to seek another term.

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This time the threat to Musharraf's regime does not come from militant Islam or his many political rivals, but from the unlikely figure of a middle-aged and highly respected lawyer

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In a sign of increasing global criticism, a group of 70 British lawyers, including Cherie Blair, the Prime Minister's wife, said that reports of the “humiliating treatment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan” were causing “great international unease."

In a bid to keep a lid on the protests, police last night carried out a number of raids across the country, seizing lawyers, opposition party activists and Muslim hardliners. More than 200 were said to be detained in the eastern city of Lahore, with dozens more held in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Nonetheless, demonstrations continued today, with protesters hurling rocks and bottles at troops and police outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, where the judge appeared for a hearing to decide whether he should be fired altogether or reinstated.

A crowd of around 1,000 people gathered outside the court chanting “Down with Musharraf dog” and “Go Musharraf go”, as they waved black banners.

As hundreds of supporters greeted Mr Chaudhry on his arrival, paramilitary troops blocked off surrounding roads to prevent further sympathisers approaching the court building.

When one of them - Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the main religious coalition, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) - tried to break through, he was arrested along with at least seven other members of the MMA, according to news agency reports.

Violent clashes also continued in Lahore, where a former president, Rafiq Tarar, was among hundreds who rallied in support of Mr Chaudhry. Mr Tarar, a former Supreme Court judge himself, served as president from 1998-2001 before General Musharraf, who had seized power two years earlier, declared himself president.

Mr Tarar was driven away in a police vehicle, although a police spokesman said he would be taken home and released.

In the northwestern city of Peshawar around 1,000 people joined a rally attended by both Islamists and secular parties, while some 300 lawyers were seen marching in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.

General Musharraf has insisted that his suspension of the judge was not political. “I promise to you that the judiciary will take (the) decision. We do not need to interfere in this,” he told a public rally yesterday, in his first comments on the matter.

But lawyers and opposition figures insist the move is an attempt to get rid of a judge who is known for his independent spirit and challenging the Government in several high-profile cases.

With parliamentary elections due within a year, the issue is particularly sensitive. General Musharraf is expected to seek re-election, and has given no indication that he is willing to yield to constitutional demands that he give up his post as chief of the army – a stance likely to draw complaints to the Supreme Court.

The United States, which considers General Musharraf as an essential ally in the war on terrorism, said that the judicial dispute was a “matter of deep concern” and had to be resolved “in a way that is completely transparent”.

Rights groups meanwhile, warned of a constitutional crisis in the country, with the Pakistani media also saying it had been pressured not to portray Mr Chaudhry as a “hero”. A private television channel said it had been barred from airing a popular news programme which featured discussions of the crisis.

Critics have also condemned the manner of Mr Chaudhry’s dismissal, accusing police of manhandling him on his way to his first hearing on Tuesday and restricting his movements and contacts with his lawyers, as well cutting off his telephone.

Nonetheless, the judge still managed to give an interview to a Pakistani newspaper. “I had an easy way out by resigning. But, I decided to protect the respect of the judiciary and my professional honour,” he told The Nation.

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