A deputy attorney-general resigned yesterday citing a crisis over government efforts to sack Pakistan's top judge, as lawyers and the opposition vowed more protests against the government.

The suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 after the government lodged unspecified accusations against him has infuriated lawyers and many ordinary Pakistanis, and has blown up into President Pervez Musharraf's biggest political crisis as a general election looms.

"I have resigned because in the current judicial crisis, it was very difficult for me to perform my duties," Nasir Saeed Sheikh, one of three deputy attorneys-general, said. He did not elaborate.

Seven judges have resigned this week to protest against the move to sack Chaudhry, which fuelled suspicion Musharraf feared the independent-minded judge would not allow any attempt by the president to retain his post of army chief, which he is due to give up this year.

Many judges and lawyers see the move against Chaudhry as an attack on the independence of the judiciary. The government has not given details of the accusations but a state news agency cited "misconduct and misuse of authority".

Lawyers and opposition activists clashed with police in Islamabad and Lahore last week. Protests have continued this week but there has been no violence.

Lawyers and an alliance of religious parties had called for protests outside the Supreme Court today, where Chaudhry was due to appear for a third time before the judicial watchdog hearing the accusations against him, raising fears of more disturbances.

But the panel of judges, known as the Supreme Judicial Council, postponed the hearing to April 3, the Supreme Court said. No reason was given.

The president of the Bar Council said the postponement was a ploy to "sabotage" their protest, which he said would still go ahead outside the Supreme Court as planned.

PHOTO CAPTION

Paramilitary soldiers guard near the Supreme Court building in Islamabad March 21, 2007. (Reuters)