KARACHI, April 7: Various associations of lawyers’ fraternity on Saturday decided to continue their protest campaign against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. It was said that the next line of action would be decided in a meeting on April 12 in Islamabad to be attended by lawyers’ representatives from different part of the country.

A combined meeting of Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Sindh Bar Council, High Court Bar Association, Karachi Bar Assocaiton, Malir Bar Association, Income Tax Bar Association and Industrial Bar Association was held at Sindh High Court with President SHCBA Abrar Hasan in the chair.

The meeting was convened by SHCBA to solicit recommendations for the forthcoming national level meeting in Islamabad. The speakers reviewed and discussed the lawyers potential to continue the campaign for a long period and said the government was hatching conspiracies to create rifts in lawyers’ associations and prolong the issue.

They said hundreds of seats of judges and law officers that were vacant since many years were being filled in a haste in order to weaken lawyers’ campaign. They said the issue required long-term planning so that their demands could be pressed by adopting a forceful strategy. They pointed out that the superior courts’ decisions had not been implemented since the CJP’s suspension and the officials were ignoring the courts orders.

The lawyers in SHC, the city courts and Malir district court continued their protest campaign against the CJP’s suspension. Three SHCBA members observed a token hunger strike in SHCBA.

Twelve members of Karachi Bar Association observed a token hunger strike in the city courts.

Lawyers boycotted court proceedings at 10.30am and gathered in front of the city courts. The SCBA President Munir A. Malik, Vice Chairman SBC Mohammd Amin Lakhani, KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi and General Secretary Naeem Qureshi addressed the lawyers. The KBA President on the occasion announced a boycott of the courts proceedings for the whole day.

The lawyers came out from the city courts in a procession and blocked M.A. Jinnah Road for 20 minutes. They marched on Hassan Ali Effendi Road, Shahrah-e-Liaquat, and entered the SHC via Courts Road. They raised slogans against President Musharraf and his action against the CJP.