KARACHI, June 12: Lawyers pledged on Tuesday that they would not abandon their movement even if Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was restored and would continue it till those who had violated the constitution were punished under Article 6 of the constitution.

Speaking at a general body meeting in the Shuhda-e-Punjab Hall at the City Courts, Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Naeem Qureshi, Mushtaq Awan, Chaudhry Abdul Sattar and K.K.Javaid Khan criticised the members of parliament for what they said their silence over the violation of the constitution.

“Had the judiciary taken action against anybody in the past under Article 6 of the constitution, the judicial crisis would have never deteriorated to this extent,” said the speakers and added that they would continue their struggle until the “enemies of constitution” were tried for their wrongdoings.

They said if the constitution was restored in its real from, the military dictators would not dare force the judges to take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) and everybody would have respect for the constitution and no one would misuse official authority. They added that at present the constitution was held “in chains by the dictators”.

The speakers slammed the members of parliament for their alleged failure to play an effective role in the restoration of the constitution and reminded them that the people had voted them to power not only to serve their own interests but to help find solutions to their problems.

They said the day was not far off when the CJP would be reinstated and the judiciary would get its independence. They said if the CJ was restored. the credit would go to the 80,000 lawyers striving for the independence of the judiciary across the country.

They claimed that the lawyers’ movement would succeed very soon and the people would get easy justice at their doorsteps. They said the lawyers’ uprightness could be judged from the fact that Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders had also changed their tone and were now saying that they would accord a warm welcome to the CJP when he comes to Karachi. He said the CJP would be accorded a warm welcome on his arrival here if the MQM did not besiege the courts again.

The KBA general secretary also appreciated the role of the media in the ongoing movement for the independence of the judiciary and asked the owners of different media establishments to provide protection to their reporters. Mr Qureshi said if the owners of the different media organisations failed to take steps for the protection of the working journalists, the KBA would ensure that the maximum possible number of reporters was insured from its platform.

He said the lawyers in the City Courts would hold a rally on M.A. Jinnah Road on Thursday against the suspension of the CJ.

Lawyers in the Sindh High Court, City Courts and Malir District Courts boycotted court proceedings for one hour — from 10.30am to 11.30am.

Meanwhile, Malir Bar Association President Zahoor Hussain Awan alleged that the government was trying to create a rift in the ranks of the judiciary or blackmail the judges.