LAHORE, Nov 6: Local lawyers’ response to the Lahore High Court Bar Association protest call appeared to be lukewarm on Thursday, as a majority of them did not wear black armbands while appearing in court.

However, this state of affairs might only have reflected apathy among the general public rather than any disagreement among lawyers, as the lawyers contacted by this correspondent gave no reason for their failure to wear black armbands and just shrugged their shoulders.

A black flag was seen fluttering on the bar building where the office-bearers, leaders of other lawyers bodies and some lawyers were busy in their normal work wearing black armbands.

The LHCBA claimed in a press release that the call had elicited a good response from lawyers across the country.

The press release enumerated a number of districts in the Punjab and Sindh where lawyers gave a positive and comprehensive response to the protest call to express their indignation over the storming of the Lahore High Court Bar by outside elements on Nov 3.

Similarly, the bars in interior Sindh, Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban centres observed the protest day, said the press release, which added that the Peshawar High Court and district bars also expressed solidarity with the LHCBA. NWFP Bar Council vice-chairperson Sanaullah Gandapur called Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari as a gesture of goodwill.

Balochistan Bar Council vice-chairperson Zahoor Ahmad Shahwani, presidents of the Balochistan High Court Bar, Amanullah Kinzani, and the Balochistan Bar Association, Mohsin Javed, also expressed similar feelings, according to the press release.

LHCBA president Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari and other office-bearers expressed their gratitude to lawyers’ support for their call and said the legal fraternity was united in protecting the dignity of profession.

The unity showed that the struggle against the Legal Framework Order and enhancement of the retirement age of judges and for a democratic order and supremacy of judiciary would continue, the LHCBA press release added.