LAHORE, May 20: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) working for people’s rights has announced launching a campaign for the security of lawyers in view of tactics being used by the government and its partners to perpetuate their rule of terror.

Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday, a JAC spokesperson said the committee had decided to launch the campaign because it had received information that the government was not relenting even after unleashing violence in Karachi on May 12.

Shahtaj Qizilbash, Hina Jilani, IA Rehman, Muhammad Tehsin, Farooq Tariq and Dr Mohyuddin attended the press conference.

Several lawyers, including Supreme Court Bar Association President Muneer A Malik, and reporters had been threatened and the government would be responsible if any of them was harmed, the JAC said.

JAC members had received reports that the government wanted to settle score with the officials who performed their duty according to the directions of the Supreme Court. The family of Supreme Court additional registrar Hammad Raza was convinced that his death was a target killing to stop him from giving evidence in defence of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The government attributed his death to armed robbery despite the fact neither anyone else in the house was harmed nor anything was taken away, the JAC said.

It was on the record the late Raza had been interrogated by intelligence agencies for many days after the suspension of the CJP and it was alleged he was pressured for fabricating evidence against the CJP.

The JAC said it had an eye on the case of former deputy inspector general (DIG) Samiullah who was arrested in Islamabad on May 14 and shifted to Mirpur Khas after he appeared on television and offered to give testimony in favour of the CJP. The DIG investigated a case of the abduction of the family of bonded labourer Mannu Bheel on the directions of the Supreme Court.

According to the JAC, Bheel feared of coming to grief at the hands of the Sindh chief minister not only before Supreme Court judges but also before the office-bearers of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The investigation by the DIG had accused Abdul Rehman Marri, an influential landlord of Sindh, of abducting Bheel’s family. Despite direction from the Supreme Court in October last year the investigation was stopped on the orders of the Sindh government and police surrounded the DIG’s residence. He fled to Islamabad but was arrested there.

The civil society said the movement launched by the lawyers for the “supremacy of law and independence of the judiciary” was being supported by all sections of society and the “CJP was being welcomed by them for defying the ruthless military regime”. The “planned” violence in Karachi on May 12 resulting in death of 41 people is the worst examples of government’s devious designs which make the restoration of rule of law imperative.

Anarchic and fascist groups will continue to be sponsored, protected and tolerated by the autocratic regime, says the JAC, adding it lauds the media for reporting the events of Karachi. The JAC did not demand a ban on an ethnic organisation responsible for violence in Karachi but says will continue raising its voice against its excesses.

They said that the present system of government had become a huge liability for its own people. The lawyers’ movement shows a ray of hope to all the Pakistanis who want a life free from fear. The movement must not lose its momentum despite setbacks. The JAC urged the bar associations to continue inviting and welcoming the CJP in bars and that political parties and civil society organisations should support the movement of lawyers. The voice of justice should not be allowed to be silenced by guns and threats and the will of the people should prevail. The government cannot be expected to provide protection to lawyers after they have been threatened by President Pervez Musharraf, says the JAC.