March 14, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 24, 1428

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PESHAWAR, March 13: With the lawyers’ boycott of courts continuing for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, some civil society groups expressed their support for the legal community over the chief justice affair.

Like Monday, members of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) and the Peshawar District Bar Association (PDBA) held a protest meeting followed by protest demonstration and rally. The Pakistan peoples Party also held a demonstration on the premises of the high court.

The meeting was addressed by Kareem Mehsud, Ghulam Nabi, Syed Attique Shah, Kifayat Khan and others. They criticised the government for virtually keeping the chief justice under house arrest.

They announced complete support for the chief justice, adding that they would abide by the decisions of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

Later, the lawyers took out a procession which marched up to the NWFP Assembly building. The protesters were raising anti-government slogans.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Protection of Human Rights (APHR) — a group of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) — condemned the action against the chief justice and termed it an attempt to undermine the independence of judiciary.

In a press release issued by the alliance, comprising the Aurat Foundation, Strengthening Participatory Organisation, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Sungi Development Foundation, Noor Education Trust, Human Resource Management and Development Centre, and Legislative Watch Group, said the filing of a reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was a highly disturbing development.

The press release said Justice Iftikhar had several important things to his credit, the most notable among them being the clearing of the huge backlog of cases.

The Khyber Union of Journalists also expressed concern over making the chief justice “non-functional” and demanded his restoration to his original high position.

A meeting of the union’s executive council, chaired by its president Jan Afzal, was held here on Tuesday. The meeting announced complete support for the legal community.

The participants demanded that the proceedings against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry be held in open court and not in camera.