[JURIST] Pakistani government lawyer Malik Muhammad Qayyum told reporters Tuesday that he supports giving suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] a public trial, saying that the government should respect Chaudhry's desire that the proceedings be open to public access. Government lawyers have previously opposed a public trial, preferring the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) try Chaudhry behind closed doors. Chaudhry, who was suspended on March 9 [JURIST report] by President Pervez Musharraf on allegations of misconduct, resisted the SCJ's inquiry and has instead challenged the legality of his suspension as well as the SJC's authority before the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website].

The top court ruled in June that it has jurisdiction over legal disputes [JURIST report] involving the suspension, rejecting arguments [JURIST report] by government lawyers the SJC's suspended inquiry [JURIST report] should be allowed to resume. AFP has more.