May 24, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21,1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 23: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has decided to join lawyers’ protest on June 9, against the Legal Framework Order (LFO), Deputy Information Secretary Munir Ahmed Khan of the alliance told Dawn on Friday.

The Joint Action Committee of lawyers has given a call for launching a “direct action” on June 9, against the superior court’s judges, who had availed themselves of a three-year extension in their respective tenures under the LFO.

Munir Khan said Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan had directed political workers to take part in the protest of June 9.

He said the time had come to launch a joint struggle for the restoration of democracy and added that the ARD fully supported lawyers in their struggle to uphold supremacy of parliament and the Constitution.

The heads of all component parties of the ARD in a meeting held on May 19, had decided to increase coordination with lawyers’ bodies throughout the country and formed a nine-member committee for this purpose, said the alliance office-bearer.

Former minister and PML-N leader Syed Zafar Ali Shah said a meeting of the committee would be held here on May 27, at his residence to chalk out a future strategy in this regard.