KARACHI: Opposition in two minds on lawyers’ invitation
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
KARACHI, April 18: Opposition parties on Wednesday remained undecided about accepting an invitation extended by the Karachi Bar Association for participation in a rally scheduled to be held on April 24.
The April 24 rally is part of the lawyers’ campaign for the independence of the judiciary.
KBA president Iftikhar Javed Qazi visited the hunger strike camp of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy outside the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday and invited the opposition alliance to join the lawyers’ rally on April 24.
“I invited the ARD to join our rally because they were also protesting to express solidarity with the country’s lawyers. However, the invitation is for all other opposition parties including the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal,” Mr Qazi told Dawn. He reiterated that the lawyers’ movement had no political agenda.
“We are struggling for the independence of the judiciary and not for a regime change” he said.
However, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, told Dawn that it was unclear as to whether the lawyers wanted full or token participation of the ARD in their rally.
“The ARD will contact the KBA to clarify the mode of its participation in the lawyers’ protest and then it will take a consensus decision on this issue in its meeting on Thursday,” he added.
Terming the invitation a generous offer by the legal fraternity to the opposition parties, the provincial president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Salim Zia, said the ARD would decide whether or not to join the lawyers’ rally in its meeting to be held on Thursday.
