KARACHI, June 2: Lawyers on Saturday said the movement for the judiciary’s independence was heading towards success and asked the government to stop hatching what they described as conspiracies to put pressure on the judges and sabotage the movement.

They said if any of those lawyers whose names were mentioned in the ‘fake FIRs’ at different police stations were arrested, they would also court arrest in protest.

Sindh Bar Council member Salahuddin Khan Gandapur said the movement was nearing success and said the registration of cases against lawyers was another blunder on the part of government.

Mr Gandapur, who is on a visit to the interior of Sindh, told Dawn that no bar association member was ready to compromise over the lawyers’ principled stand for the independence of the judiciary. He said the registration of cases and warnings to the media were unconstitutional. Such steps were proof of the government’s intentions to abridge the freedom of expression, he added.

Sindh High Court Bar Association General-Secretary Munir-ur-Rehman said if the government took the ‘foolish’ step of arresting any lawyer, they would all court arrest and the government would not be able to afford it.

He condemned the reports about possible restrictions on the media, especially on the electronic media, and urged the media people to take a joint action in this regard.