04 July 2004	Sunday	15 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

LAHORE, July 3: Lawyers largely boycotted courts on Saturday on the call given by the Punjab Bar Council in protest against the Gujrat situation.

The Punjab Bar Council claimed that lawyers observed a complete strike from Attock to Rahim Yar Khan. However, sources said some lawyers appeared in courts in the morning for their urgent cases.

Meanwhile, council vice-chairman Tanvirur Rehman Randhawa has called a meeting of vice-chairmen of all the four provinces and Azad Kashmir on July 10 to consider the lawyers agitation to be extended across the country.

Mr Randhawa told Dawn that the situation in Gujrat and uncertainty looming over the elections of the PBC because of the provincial government's attitude would come up for discussion in the meeting next Saturday.

A PBC delegation attended a special meeting in Gujrat which adopted a resolution condemning DPO Raja Munawwar. It said the Punjab government had failed to resolve the conflict. It wondered whether the Punjab government had chosen to side with the DPO at the cost of the entire bar and peace in the Gujrat district.

Earlier, a PBC meeting regretted that the Punjab government had gone back on its solemn commitment held out on June 15 that the conflict would be resolved amicably. It said the DPO was out to settle his personal vendetta with the Gujrat bar leadership and the government chose to remain indifferent. The meeting reiterated the demand that the DPO should be transferred.