LAHORE, March 5: The first general house conducted by the High Court Bar Association took a hard line on the Punjab government here on Friday, demanding it to step down for failing to maintain law and order.

The meeting, chaired by Bar President Ahmad Awais, called for the arrest of the killers of two lawyers from Sahiwal - Muhammad Arshad Anwar and Rana Sultan Ahmad - and trial by an anti-terrorism court.

A resolution adopted at the meeting, where Mr Awais, outgoing president Hafiz Abdur Rahman Ansari, former Punjab Bar Council vice-chairperson Ramzan Chaudhry and secretary Azam Nazir Tarar were among speakers, sought of the provincial police chief to get the incident investigated by a senior officer and take the families of the murdered lawyers and the bar into confidence within three days. The lawyers charged with killing their colleagues in Sahiwal also attended the meeting.

Bar president Ahmad Awais said the legal community appeared more vulnerable to violence and repression because of its movement for a democratic order, rule of law and independence of the judiciary. Despite all this, he pledged, the movement would continue.

Mr Awais also announced implementation of his pre-poll slogan of putting undemocratic forces on trial for breach of the oath to protect the constitution. He said a commission of senior lawyers would soon be constituted to make undemocratic forces and personnel stand trial for abrogating the constitution, "which was an act of sedition."

He said the bar wanted better relations with the bench, but not at the cost of the principled stand on national issues. He said a representative conference was being convened to work out the future line of action on such issues. Another resolution demanded a compensation of Rs1 million each for the heirs of the deceased lawyers.