16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ABBOTTABAD, May 15: An all Pakistan lawyers convention held here on Saturday rejected the amendments made in the 1973 Constitution and demanded its restoration in its original form.

The speakers lashed out at the government for the worsening law and order situation and urged the lawyers to come forward and steer the country out of the crises.

Criticizing the formation of the National Security Council, they said that the army had never allowed democracy to flourish in the country. They said that role of the army was only to defend the territorial boundaries of the country.

They criticized the latest amendments in the Constitution and said that through these amendments the army had given wider role which, they said, would never prove helpful to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in the country.

Through a resolution, the convention demanded that interference with the judiciary by the government agencies should be stopped forthwith and the judges to superior courts should be appointed on seniority basis.

A resolution passed on the occasion declared the Wana operation as illegal and violation of human rights.

The convention largely attended by lawyers from across the country also criticized the deportation of Shahbaz Sharif.

The lawyers also unanimously condemned the violation of human rights by US troops in Iraq.

In another resolution, the lawyers reacted to the steps taken by the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and said that the tussle between bar and bench in Lahore was a conspiracy.

Those who spoke on this occasion included vice chairman of Pakistan Bar Council Qazi Mohammad Anwar, Supreme Court Bar Association president Tariq Mehmood, SCBA ex-presidents Hamid Khan and Chaudhry Mohammad Akram, Justice (retd) Qazi Mohammad Jamil and Peshawar High Court Bar Association Abbottabad Circuit president Muzaffar Khan Swati.