Pak CJ's witnesses and lawyers threatened

Aitzaz Ahsan, head counsel for Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also said lawyers and witnesses in the case were under "enormous pressure from the government," although he did not directly blame it for the incidents.

Military ruler President Pervez Musharraf removed the independent-minded Chaudhry on March 9, sparking violence which has left 40 people dead and the most serious political crisis of his eight-year rule.

"We are under enormous pressure from the government. One witness has been murdered and another has been picked up," Ahsan told Pakistan's Supreme Court in Islamabad.

The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal by Chaudhry against his suspension and also against Musharraf's referral of the allegations to a panel of senior judges, called the Supreme Judicial Council.

Outside court, Ahsan gave further details of alleged intimidation.

"The lawyers are being threatened, my phones are being tapped, one witness has been killed, another has been lifted, I am getting threatening messages," he told AFP when asked to comment on his statements in court.

There was no immediate response from the government.

Supreme Court deputy registrar Syed Hamad Raza, who was brought to the court by Chaudhry in 2005 and served as his personal assistant, was killed by gunmen at dawn on May 10.

Police are still investigating the case but his brother and widow have claimed that he was assassinated because of his ties to the chief justice.

Ahsan later said the detained witness was the deputy inspector general of police in southern Sindh province, who was arrested last week and whose name was reportedly in the summary of charges against Chaudhry.

The policeman's wife filed a petition in the court on Tuesday saying that his detention was illegal and asking for him to be released.