KARACHI, May 2: Staging a protest during the appearance of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, before the Supreme Judicial Council in Islamabad in a presidential reference against him on Wednesday, lawyers boycotted proceedings of the Sindh High Court, the City Courts and the Malir District Court.

The City Courts wore a deserted look and the main gates of all courts remained locked while the judges remained confined to their chambers. Vendors also kept their businesses closed whereas under-trial prisoners were not taken to the courts.

A general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) was held in front of the City Courts where KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi and General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi spoke to protesting lawyers. They condemned the holding of a seminar on ‘Role of Lawyers in Civil Society’ here on Monday, terming it an attempt by the government to divide lawyer fraternity.

They said the basic KBA membership of Barrister Shahida Jamil and Rana M. Shamim was cancelled for holding the seminar. “The membership of other lawyers could also be cancelled if they are found involved in such activities,” they added, calling on all lawyers to follow the association’s discipline strictly.

Mr Qazi, who also addressed the protesters at the KPC, cautioned lawyers that the government was out to sabotage the peaceful movement for the independence of the judiciary. He said lawyers fully supported the stand taken by the fraternity against the presidential reference and they would continue the campaign until it was withdrawn.

Mr Qureshi declared that a complete strike would be observed on Thursday when the CJP would again appear before the SJC in Islamabad. He said the KBA would hold a general body meeting in the morning and take out a procession from the City Courts.

Meanwhile, a batch of 12 lawyers observed a token hunger strike at the City Courts in line with the ongoing campaign. They were Ghulam Mehdi, Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry, Akbar Khan, Syed Abdul Tawab, Rafiquddin Shaikh, Syed Dilshad Hussain Shah, Syed Arif Raza Zaidi, Shamsher Ali Siddiqui, Mazhar Hussain, Mohammad Nisar Tanoli, Mohammad Qasim Abbasi and Ghulam Hussain.

Lawyers also took out a procession from the City Courts and blocked M. A. Jinnah Road for about 30 minutes before marching up to the Sindh High Court via Hassan Ali Effendi Road and Shahrah-i-Liaquat. They converged on the main gate of the Sindh High Court where they were joined by members of the Sindh High Court Bar Association and the Malir Bar Association. The protesters then marched towards the Sindh Assembly to reach the Karachi Press Club.

Addressing the protesters, a member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Yasin Azad, said the government was trying to create a rift among lawyers to weaken the campaign but lawyers would frustrate all such attempts. He said the ongoing campaign was not aimed at protecting an individual but safeguarding the independence of the judiciary and rule of law which was now a concern of the 160 million people of Pakistan.

He also criticised the role of PML leaders in Punjab in dividing lawyers and said their designs were doomed to failure, pointing out that despite all such moves, the lawyer fraternity had remained steadfast and united.

General Secretary of the Malir Bar Association Abdul Naeem Memon, General Secretary of the Industrial Relations Advisers Association Mohammad Rafiq Malik, President of the People’s Lawyers’ Forum Shahdat Awan, Arshad Jadoon, Junaid Farooqui, Maroof Khan, Raja Riaz, Haleem Siddiqui and Sakhi Ghazali also spoke on the occasion.