April 27, 2002	Saturday	Safar 13, 1423

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QUETTA, April 26: Police on Friday arrested 47 lawyers, including three leaders, for taking out a procession to protest against the referendum and the arrests of a large number of lawyers in the city in the past three days.

The Civil Lines police picked up Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) President Ali Ahmed Kurd, former president Sakhi Sultan and Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Hadi Shakeel Ahmed in pre-dawn swoops on their houses.

“Yes, we have arrested three leaders of the lawyers under sections 185, 353, 149, 139, 124-A and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code,” SSP Abid Ali confirmed to Dawn.

“Forty-four other lawyers were taken into custody for taking out an illegal procession,” the SSP said.

However, the BBA said the police had arrested 70 lawyers, including its general secretary Abdul Qahir, former president Mohsin Javed, Ayaz Swati and Inyatullah Kasi.

As the members of the bar association came out of the main gate of the district courts to take out a procession, the police arrested 44 lawyers, who were chanting slogans against the military government and were demanding the restoration of democracy and the 1973 Constitution.

Cases were registered against those arrested, besides Balochistan Labour Federation President Khan Zaman and Para-medical Staff Association Chairman Jamal Shah for chanting anti-government slogans in the procession.

Sources said the high-ups of the provincial government had taken a serious notice of a protest procession that lawyers had taken out against the presidential referendum in the city on Thursday.

In order to prevent lawyers from taking out more protest processions, they said, the police had arrested their three leaders and had registered cases against 85 other lawyers.

The lawyers’ community strongly condemned the arrests of senior lawyers, and said they would not bow before what they called the unconstitutional act of the military government.

BOYCOTT TO CONTINUE: The city lawyers will boycott the proceedings of the Balochistan High Court and its subordinate courts to protest against the arrests of lawyers till April 30 when the referendum would be held.

Speaking at a press conference, the acting president of the provincial bar association, Kamran Mullahkhel, and former additional advocate-general, Noor Mohammad Achakzai, announced that four lawyers would observe a token hunger strike daily until the arrested lawyers were not released.

“No bail application would be filed for the release of arrested lawyers,” Mr Achakzai said, adding that after April 30, a new line of action would be announced if the lawyers were not released.

They condemned the arrests of the BBA president and other senior lawyers from their houses in a midnight operation, saying that “even criminals are not arrested in this manner in which senior and respectable lawyers have been taken into custody.”