KARACHI, March 12: Lawyers continued their boycott on Monday and stayed away from the courts to protest against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The lawyers staged a sit in on M.A. Jinnah Road and vowed to continue their protest till reinstatement of the CJP. The protesting lawyers said that their efforts were not aimed at saving an individual, but institutions.
The city courts premises wore a deserted look as the lawyers did not appear in the courts and the court staff sat idle. The judges remained in their chambers. The two public canteens remained closed and the stamp vendors kept their stalls.
The members of the Karachi Bar Association gathered at the KBA office around 10am and then they took out a procession to the M. A. Jinnah Road which remained blocked till 12:30pm. The leaders of KBA, Sindh Bar Association, Sindh Bar Council, and Pakistan Bar Council addressed the protestors.
The lawyers who spoke on the occasion were KBA President IftikharJaved Qazi, General Secretary Naeem Qureshi, Joint Secretary Amir Niaz Khan, SHCBA General Secretary Munir ur Rehman, SBC members Mehmood ul Hassan, Mohammad Aqil and Mohammad Ali Abbasi, PBC members Yasin Azad, Abul Inam, President Peoples Lawyers Forum Shahadat Awan, and other senior lawyers.
The speakers condemned the CJP’s suspension and said President Pervez Musharraf wanted the judiciary to do whatever he wished. They also claimed that General Musharraf was not in favour of holding elections in the country and wanted to use the judiciary as a tool in this respect.
They said the allegations levelled against the CJP were baseless and his suspension illegal, unlawful and based on malafide intentions. They claimed this was a pre planned conspiracy, as prior to his action the President was bound to send the case to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The speakers pointed out that other judges had also been criticised and accused of wrong doing, but no action was taken against them. The speakers demanded the immediate reinstatement of the CJP.
The lawyers warned that if the government did not accept their demands, the KBA would announce a prolonged protest plan.
The KBA secretary said important decisions would be taken in a general body meeting to be held today (Tuesday) at 10 am. Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif is expected to address the KBA members via telephone on Tuesday. The provincial chief of the party’s provincial lawyers’ wing, Arshad Jadoon, said Mr Sharif told the KBA leadership on phone that he would like to address the legal fraternity during the general body meeting of the KBA.
SHCBA: The SHCBA members led by the association’s president, Abrar Hasan, went in a procession to the Supreme Court registry and met Justice Ghulam Rabbani. One member of the SC bench at the registry, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, was indisposed while Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi was not available. No case was heard at the registry.
In the SHC, lawyers observed a complete strike and lists of cases fixed before various benches were discharged. Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, left for Islamabad early in the afternoon.
The summoning of the CJ to the Army House, the members said, was also intended to demonstrate the subservience of the judiciary. There was no justification for appointment of an acting chief justice in the presence of a permanent CJ, they declared. Advocate Azad said the PBC has sought permission from the SJC to attend the reference proceedings on behalf of its 20 members but there was no response so far.
Advocate Syed Nihal Hashmi, moved a petition in the high court against the government action. Another lawyer, Sohail Hameed, demanded that the superior court judges should be given fresh oath under the Constitution after the expiry of the oath administered to them under the Provisional Constitution Order, 1999.
KARACHI, March 12: Lawyers continued their boycott on Monday and stayed away from the courts to protest against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The lawyers staged a sit in on M.A. Jinnah Road and vowed to continue their protest till reinstatement of the CJP. The protesting lawyers said that their efforts were not aimed at saving an individual, but institutions.
