KARACHI, May 9: Lawyers in Sindh High Court, City Courts and Malir District Courts on Wednesday stayed away from the court proceedings for an hour and observed a token hunger strike in their respective bars to condemn the presidential reference filed against the chief justice.
A general body meeting of Karachi Bar Association was held at the Shuhda-i-Punjab Hall, which was addressed by KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, General Secretary Naeem Qureshi and the general secretary of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy.
KBA members unanimously approved a resolution against the sealing of the office of Supreme Court Bar Association President Munir A. Malik, who is one of the counsels of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The meeting termed it an illegal and the most provocative step on part of the government and asked for immediate removal of the seal from the office.
Iftikhar Javaid Qazi condemned the government’s act of sealing the office of Munir A. Malik and said it was a proof of the victimisation of counsels of the chief justice. He said lawyers could not be intimidated with such tactics and they would continue their campaign against the unconstitutional decisions of the rulers.
Naeem Qureshi said KBA always offered its platform to the people of different political parties and members of the civil society at the time of trials and tribulations and extended legal support to the victims of military dictators. He counted a number of parties and groups that got help from the KBA in the past. He said scores of political groups, NGOs, civil society activist were ready to accord warm welcome to the CJP on May 12.
Addressing the lawyers, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, who is also general secretary of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group), said the country was passing through the worst kind of judicial crisis due to wrong policies of the military dictator. He said judiciary was facing the crisis for the last six decades and the ongoing campaign was a ray of hope for the people. This was an opportunity for the people to run a campaign for the independence of judiciary, he said adding that during the last 60 years the rulers tried to use it for their own vested interests.
He said in the past judiciary provided ground to the military dictators to rule the country under the doctrine of necessity and the rulers always misused the state powers against people of the country.
He said the rulers were following the policies of the United States and the innocent people of the NWFP and Balochistan were being sprayed with bullets. He said the rulers instead of giving basic rights to the citizens were killing them.
The ARD leader said at a time when the country was facing various internal and external problems people had attached many expectations with the lawyers who were a sign of relief for those suffering at the hands of usurpers.
Recalling the tenure of former prime minister, he said Nawaz Sharif did his best for upholding the dignity of the judiciary and as a prime minister did not feel any hesitation, but always attended the hearings of cases against him to prove that no one was above the law.
Commenting on the sealing of Munir A. Malik’s office, he said it was a glaring example of the unconstitutional and illegal acts of the rulers. He said Munir A.Malik was being punished for being a counsel of the chief justice. He asked the authorities concerned to unseal the office and avoid taking such irrational steps which could cause provocation.
He condemned the use of police force against lawyers and said that the peaceful campaign was for a noble cause. He appreciated the struggle of lawyers and assured them of his party’s full support.
People from all walks of life would participate in the rallies to accord welcome to the chief justice, he said and warned government allies to avoid creating hurdles saying that the government was duty bound to maintain peace and ensure honourable arrival of the chief justice. Meanwhile, 12 members of KBA observed a token hunger strike at the City Courts. They were Maqbool-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Masud Khan, Mohammad Aslam Bhutta, Sarwar Khan, Khalid Tanoli, Masuad-ur-Rehman Astori, Mohammad Shafqat Tanoli, Syed Ajmal Shah, Tahir Rahim, Raees Ahmed Khan, Malik Salim Akhtar and Mohammad Ejaz.
Malir Bar Association members boycotted court proceedings from 10am to 4pm extending the protest against the sealing of Maunir A. Malik’s office. Four bar members, Mohammad Pervez Iqbal, Shah Mohammad Rajput, Mohammad Ameen and Malik Ghulam Murtaza, observed a token hunger strike in the bar room.
