A senior judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday took oath as the acting Chief Justice under the 1973 Constitution, which reportedly does not contain the controversial amendments promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf.

Raising a fresh controversy and following a trend set by the country's new parliamentarians, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary became Pakistan's first Supreme Court judge, after the end of the three-year military rule, to take oath under the 1973 Constitution.

There is still some doubt over whether the 1973 Constitution contained Musharraf's amendments or not.

Justice Chaudhary's decision formally marked a departure from the three-year old practice of judges taking oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order promulgated by the Musharraf when he took over in a military coup in 1999.

Several Supreme Court judges resigned at that time and declined to take a fresh oath under the PCO.

Justice Choudhary, the third senior most judge of the apex court, has taken over as acting chief justice as Chief Justice Riaz Ahmed Sheikh and his deputy have gone abroad on an official visit.

Justice Chaudhary's decision followed a similar decision by members of the mainstream political parties in the recently elected National Assembly to take oath only under it and not under the Legal Framework Order containing the amendments.

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