KARACHI, May 10: The legal fraternity on Thursday extended its boycott of proceedings of all courts from one hour to a full day in protest against the sealing off of the office of Munir A. Malik, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), and attack on his residence with firearms.
At the Sindh High Court, five women members of the Sindh High Court Bar Association – Baad Saba, Saima Shaikh, Tayyaba Jabeen, Nuzhat Qamar and Asfa Rizvi – observed a token hunger strike.
The SHCBA and the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) held at a joint general body meeting which was addressed Pakistan Bar Council members Abul Inam and Mohammad Yasin Azad; SHCBA President Abrar Hasan and General Secretary Munir-ur-Rehman; KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi and General Secretary Naeem Qureshi; SHCBA members Nihal Hashmi and Sharif Shaikh and others.
Besides condemning the forced closure of Mr Malik’s office, they deplored the incident of firing at his house in the early hours of Thursday and the attempted kidnapping of a former SHCBA president Akhtar Hussain on Thursday night. They described such incidents as attempts to terrorise lawyers and sabotage the planned welcome reception to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, on Saturday. However, they said, such tactics would not work as the lawyer fraternity stood firm in its determination to liberate the judiciary from the clutches of the military dictatorship.
It was announced on the occasion that KBA members would gather at the SHC at 9am on Saturday and a joint procession with members of all lawyers’ organisations and other participants. The participants would march up to the airport to accord a tumultuous welcome to Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. It was also resolved that complete peace and harmony would be maintained and discipline observed.
The City Courts wore a deserted look as most lawyers were attending the joint general body meeting. Under-trial prisoners were taken to the courts but had to be escorted back to prisons. Canteens, shops, cabins, stamp vending kiosks and other commercial outlets on the premises of the City Courts also remained closed.
Lawyers at the City Courts gathered at the hunger strikers’ camp where they were addressed by Hafeez Baloch, K.K Javaid Khan, Mehmood-ul-Hassan and Saeed Qureshi.
They strongly criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for scheduling its rally for Saturday, claiming that it was an attempt to sabotage the lawyers’ programmes. They said that the MQM leadership should avoid being used by the military dictators. Rather, it should join hands with lawyers in their struggle for the independence of judiciary.
Meanwhile, in the continuing campaign against the filing of presidential reference against Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, a batch of eight KBA members observed a token hunger strike at the City Courts on Thursday. Four members of Malir Bar Association also observed a token hunger strike at the Malir District Court.
LABOUR BODIES: Various labour organisations have pledged their participation in the lawyers’ rally to accord a rousing welcome to Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on his arrival here on Saturday.
The pledge came at a joint meeting of the organisations under the chairmanship of Rafiq Ahmed, President of the National Labour Federation Pakistan, here on Thursday. It was attended by representatives of the Pakistan Steel Labour Union (Paslo), Pakistan Railway Employees Union, PIAC Employees Union, Water Board General Employees Union, PTCL Pak Workers Union, PNSC Staff Workers Union, KESC Akhuwwat Group, Textile Mills Labour Union, Karachi Courier Association, besides zonal heads of the NLF.
The meeting advised members of all participating organisations to ensure their presence at the airport by 11am on Saturday.
