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GUJRANWALA, Pakistan - Tens of thousands of supporters thronged roadsides to greet Pakistan's suspended top judge on Saturday as he drove to Lahore to gather backing for his fight against the president's attempt to sack him.
A caravan of cars several km long followed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's vehicle as it passed through towns and cities of central Punjab province on its way to the provincial capital, Lahore.
Lahore is Pakistan's politically most influential city and Chaudhry's reception there is seen as a test of his backing.
President Pervez Musharraf suspended Chaudhry on March 9, an act seen by the legal community and opposition groups as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
Chaudhry's refusal to resign in the face of charges of misconduct, and widespread sympathy for his stand, have created the most serious challenge to Musharraf's authority since he came to power in a military coup seven-and-a-half years ago.
Jubilant supporters clutching their children struggled through a boisterous crowd in the city of Gujranwala to see Chaudhry as his car passed by.
In Gujrat city, a white horse pranced in front of his car and fireworks exploded as his convoy edged through the crowds.
Speaking briefly to lawyers, Chaudhry called for unity.
"You should stand shoulder to shoulder with one another," he said, though he avoided comment on the charges against him.
Thousands of people were expected to greet Chaudhry in Lahore, where lawyers have led a movement to defend the judiciary, and the number of high court judges who turn up for a speech he plans to give will be a measure of his support.
Residents said transmission by several private television channels of live pictures of Chaudhry's procession had been blocked in southern Sindh province.
Musharraf, speaking at a rally in Sindh province, accused lawyers of "politicising" a judicial matter by holding protests.
"I warn the lawyers that they will not succeed in their designs ... I ask the lawyers to shun politics," he said.
Musharraf is due to seek re-election in September or October. Controversially, he wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections the president says could take place around November.
Analysts say Musharraf's main motive in seeking the independent-minded Chaudhry's removal is to have a more pliable chief justice in place in case of constitutional challenges to his plans.
Chaudhry has already travelled to Sindh and North West Frontier Province, where he met many judges.
But the province of Punjab, where he was travelling on Saturday, is more important as its most senior judge sits on the Supreme Judicial Council, a five-member panel holding an inquiry into the misconduct charges against the chief justice.
Chaudhry has objected to the Punjab judge's presence on the Council, saying he is biased, and wants his case to be switched to the Supreme Court.
Punjab is politically influential because it is the traditional stronghold of the Pakistani establishment and the country's richest and most populous region.
- REUTERS
