April 07, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, April 6: The Pakistan Bar Council has called a meeting of representative bodies of lawyers for April 12 in a bid to coordinate and to keep up the momentum of the campaign launched by lawyers against President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s decision of rendering Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ineffective.

PBC vice-chairperson Ali Ahmad Kurd also announced on Friday that a strike would be observed on April 13 when the Supreme Judicial Council takes up the reference against the chief justice.

He asked representative bodies of the PBC, executive committees of provincial bar councils, presidents of Supreme Court and high court bar associations and district bar associations of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad to attend the meeting.

A legal expert believed that the meeting had been called to avoid April 3-like situation when protesting lawyers allegedly beat up two pro-government lawyers in the Supreme Court building. At the same time, attendance of a large number of representatives of various bodies from all over Pakistan would ensure a large gathering outside the Supreme Court to protest on April 13.

On Tuesday last, when the “suspended” chief justice appeared before the SJC to defend him in the reference against him, some lawyers outside the apex court premises had also thrashed some people, allegedly belonging to an intelligence agency, when they tried to creep into the protest rally wearing black coats.

Similarly, inside the apex court, a small group of lawyers belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, district nazims and intelligence agencies’ personnel chanted pro-government slogans and in protest, angry lawyers beat Advocate Mohammad Fayyaz and government employee Qazi Iftikharuddin, tore their clothes and threw them out. Dr Khalid Ranjha, a member of the panel of prosecutors representing the government before the SJC, was also roughed up and abused by some lawyers.

The meeting had been called to consider promoting coordination among bar councils and to make unified and concerted efforts to further strengthen the ongoing movement of lawyers, the statement said. The meeting will be held at the office of the PBC situated within the premises of the Supreme Court building at 6pm.

Mr Kurd also asked lawyers to continue their one-hour daily strike in courts from 10:30am to 11:30am along side a three-hour hunger strike daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm.