March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 17: Four members of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) on Saturday submitted separate motions to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking debate on the issue of ongoing judicial crisis and prevalent law and order situation in the country after the removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry through a presidential reference.

According to parliamentary secretary of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Izhar Amrohvi, the motions have been filed by PPP Secretary-General Raja Pervez Ashraf, information secretary Sherry Rehman, Naheed Khan and Syed Naveed Qamar under Rule 241 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992.

Through their motions, the PPP leaders have sought discussion on “maltreatment and manhandling of lawyers by the police in the country during a protest in support of the chief justice of Pakistan”.

Sherry Rehman, in her motion, has sought discussion on the situation arose during hearings of a reference under Article 209 of the Constitution against the chief justice of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, according to Ms Rehman, the PPP has convened a meeting of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Federal Council on March 21 at the party’s Central Secretariat, Islamabad, on the occasion of the next hearing of the chief justice before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The party has been instructed to show full support to the bar councils in their struggle for independence of the judiciary. All MNAs and senators are also expected to attend the meeting. It will be the third meeting of the party’s CEC and the FC since the removal of the chief justice on March 9.

However, the party had convened the first meeting in Karachi due to which several main leaders could not attend the protest demonstration with other opposition parties outside the Supreme Court building on March 13 when the chief justice was brought there for his first appearance before the SJC.

However, during the second hearing on Friday, there was a maximum participation of the party’s leadership in the protest demonstration outside the Supreme Court.

In fact, the PPP leaders and parliamentarians outnumbered the other political parties on Friday.

Prominent among those who participated in the protest were Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raza Rabbani, Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, Latif Khosa, Jehangir Badr, Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi, Abida Hussain, Syed Fakhar Imam, Khalid Iqbal Memon, Fauzia Wahab, Yasmeen Rehman, Dr Azra Fazal, Mir Baz Khetran, Imran Hayat, Kashif Rizvi and Nargis Faiz Malik.