March 23, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1428

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QUETTA, March 22: The Balochistan chapter of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called for immediate withdrawal of the presidential reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and stop interfering in judiciary’s affairs.

The demand was made at a meeting of the Balochistan HRCP held here on Thursday under Tahir Mohammad Khan, a former HRCP chairperson.

Criticising the government’s move, the meeting observed that there was no moral ground for sending the reference when the president, the prime minister and chief ministers themselves were committing irregularities every day.

“Every day, people in Islamabad and other cities were facing road closures lasting hours in the name of security and protocol for the president, the prime minister and chief ministers,” the HRCP meeting observed.

Participants of the meeting said that the government was using the state machinery against the Chief Justice and the legal fraternity who were protesting against the government’s unconstitutional act against a sitting chief of the apex court.

Condemning the rulers’ attitude towards the Chief Justice and the lawyers, the meeting termed violence against lawyers an act of barbarism and said: “The government’s attitude against the CJP and the lawyers is undemocratic, unconstitutional and inhuman.”

Terming all allegations against the Chief Justice of Pakistan false and baseless, the meeting urged the government to free all lawyers, political leaders and workers detainees arrested in the country, adding that the government should allow the judiciary to work independently.

The vice-chairman of the Balochistan HRCP, Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani, Mrs Surraiya Amiruddin, Tahir Hussain Khan, Habib Tahir and a large number of human rights activists attended the meeting.