KARACHI, June 14: Courts across the city, like elsewhere in the country, wore a deserted look on Thursday as the lawyers observed a complete boycott of the court proceedings in line with the Pakistan Bar Council’s decision and as part of the continuing protest campaign against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Although judges did remain present in their respective courts’ chambers, they could not hold proceedings due to the lawyers’ boycott. Shops and vending kiosks within and around the vicinities of the courts also remained closed.
The protesting lawyers at the City Courts took out a rally and blocked a section of M.A. Jinnah Road for about 20 minutes, disrupting vehicular traffic along the prime artery and all link roads leading to it. Participants of the rally then marched up to the Karachi Press Club via Shahrah-i-Liaquat, Hassan Ali Effendi Road, Courts Road and Sir Ghulam Hussain Road. On their way to the KPC, they gathered on the premises of the Sindh High Court building after entering it through the gate reserved for judges.
The protesters, wearing black armbands and holding portraits of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, kept raising slogans against General Pervez Musharraf, his government and policies, and the filing of the presidential reference against the CJ. They also demanded restoration of the judiciary’s independence.
Addressing the protesters, President of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) Iftikhar Javaid Qazi and General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi said the CJ’s suspension was an action planned and designed by Gen Musharraf himself whereas his cronies in the federal government complicated the problem arising out of his move by making senseless comments.
In this context, they alleged that the issue had turned the situation from bad to worse mostly by the irrational press statements issued by the Federal Minister for Law Wasi Zafar who, they claimed, had no knowledge of law and significance of media despite having been handling the portfolio of law.
They also appreciated the role of journalists and media in the coverage of the lawyers’ movement, and slammed the government for harassing media men and failing to protect them from those who were bent upon keeping the media under threat.
The KBA leaders offered arranging for journalists’ insurance if their employers did not fulfil their responsibilities in this regard.
They condemned the killing of a student leader, Wasif Aziz of the United Student Front, on Wednesday and termed it ‘another attempt to disrupt fragile peace in Karachi’. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
Earlier, the Sindh High Court Bar Association held its general body meeting which was addressed by its General-Secretary Shaikh Munir-ur-Rehman, Nihal Hashmi, Tauqeer Hassan, Aamir Naqvi, Fariduddin, Amin Lala, Ghulam Hussain and Mehar Hussain Shah.
Condemning the killing, it alleged that the activist was eliminated only for actively supporting the lawyers’ ongoing movement.
Meanwhile, a batch of three lawyers observed a token hunger strike at the SHC whereas seven lawyers at the City Courts and two lawyers at the Malir District Courts observed the hunger strike.
