KARACHI: Lawyers slam police action against rallies in Punjab
By A Reporter
KARACHI, May 7: Lawyers on Monday stayed away from court proceedings in the City Courts for four hours and observed a one-hour sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road to protest against police violence on lawyers’ processions taken out in support of the judiciary’s independence in Sahiwal and other parts of Punjab.
The lawyers, raising slogans against President Pervez Musharraf, Federal Minister for Information Mohammad Ali Durrani and Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, gathered at the hungers strike camp at noon and came out of the City Courts in a procession. They held a rally on M.A. Jinnah Road and blocked the vehicular traffic for about one hour.
Those who spoke on the occasion were Karachi Bar Association President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, Vice President Qadir Khan, Gneral Secretary Naeem Qureshi, KBA members Tariq Niazi, Raja Riaz, Sakhi Jan Ghazali, Ms Asfa Rizvi, Chaudhry Abdul Sattar, Hanif Bhatti, Mushtaq Awan, Saeed Qureshi, Umer Baloch, Hassan Mehmud Jaffary, Mohammad Ashraf Khan, Naheed Afzal and Hanif Kashmiri.
The Karachi Bar Association (KBA) on Monday cancelled the membership of all those who are in the government as ministers and advisers.
The speakers said only professional lawyers could be members of the association, adding that investigation was under way to cancel membership of all those serving various government departments.
They took serious notice of the press conference held at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday and said that those now speaking against the lawyers were using the platform of the Karachi Bar Association in 1992 for their protection.
They said the lawyers could not be intimidated by Kalashnikovs and threats.
The speakers condemned the government for, what they said, using state machinery against the lawyers and said the police action against lawyers in Sahiwal was a glaring example of state terrorism. They said lawyers were also in a position to retaliate, but “we are civilised people and will not cross the limits”.
They said the lawyers’ campaign was purely for the rule of law and there was no political motive behind it, adding that those pointing a finger at them were acting like stooges of the military dictator. They said the lawyers were fully united across the country and the support of judges had strengthened their unity.
They said the presence of members of the Sindh High Court, the Peshawar High Court and the Lahore High Court at the reception for Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was a sign of victory for the lawyers and proof of the CJ’s innocence.
They also criticised the government for creating hurdles in the way of processions taken out to honour the CJ and termed it another undemocratic and unconstitutional step of the rulers. They said the ‘caravan’ could not be stopped with the use of forces and the rulers should not use such tactics which could provoke the public into crossing all limits.
They said the lawyers were not ready to call off their campaign, adding that it was the right time for the government to reinstate the CJ and ensure independence of the judiciary in the country. They vowed to continue the campaign and said a warm welcome would be accorded to the CJ on May 12.
Meanwhile, nine members of the KBA observed a token hunger strike in the City Courts.
Lawyers in Malir district also observed a one hour boycott of court proceeding and held a general body meeting at the bar room.
Four members of the association observed a token hunger strike in the bar room.
