New York:Slamming Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for suspending the Chief Justice, two UN human rights experts have asked Islamabad to ensure independence of judiciary as provided in the country's Constitution.

"The circumvention of the Constitution constitutes a serious interference of the executive with the independence of the judiciary. This threatens the proper functioning of the country's judicial system," they said yesterday.

In a statement, they also expressed concern over use of "excessive force" against "peaceful demonstrators" protesting the suspension of the Chief Justice, saying that this runs contrary to international standards guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

They noted that the suspension of the Chief Justice, which is "widely seen as an attack on the independence of the judiciary", sparked demonstrations at which police used excessive force and asked the authorities to take action to remedy the situation.

The protests began on March 12, just three days after President Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry over unspecified allegations of fmisuse of office.

"Demonstrators, including lawyers, journalists, political activists and civil society actors, have taken to the streets since March 12 to protest against this presidential decision, which is broadly seen as constituting an attack against the independence of the judiciary," the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, and the Secretary-General's Special Representative on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani.