KARACHI, June 18: A meeting of the Karachi Bar Association regretted on Monday that the owners of certain electronic channels had compromised press freedom in the wake of the promulgation of the tougher new restrictions under the Pemra Ordinance although the lawyers fraternity had offered to the media free legal aid and full support against curbs on the press.
KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, speaking at the association’s general body meeting on the City Courts premises on Monday, alleged that owners of certain electronic channels bargained with the government vis-a-vis the new Pemra rules and coverage of Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s rallies. They started playing down the rallies evidently after discussing their issues with the government, he added.
Mr Qazi denounced the government’s ‘anti-media’ policy, pointing out that the entire world was closely monitoring the government’s policies and the judicial crisis, especially after the promulgation and suspension of the amendments to the Pemra Ordinance amid strong public reaction.
Despite the channel operators’ act of preferring a compromise with the government, the lawyer fraternity would stand by its offer of legal aid to press reporters, he said.
Reiterating the KBA’s resolve to go ahead with the ongoing struggle against the rulers’ control on the judiciary, he accused General Pervez Musharraf of being responsible for the current judicial crisis. Terming the military chief’s involvement in politics ‘unconstitutional’, he vowed that the general’s moves to get himself re-elected as a uniformed president would be opposed tooth and nail.
“The rulers’ all unconstitutional steps can be neutralised only by an independent and powerful judiciary,” he said, maintaining that the lawyers’ campaign must sustain until a complete success as this would greatly help the nation oust a uniformed president.
KBA General Secretary Naeem Qureshi said lawyers were fully determined to continue the movement, adding that the CJ would be accorded a rousing welcome on his arrival here as per the programme.
K. K. Javaid Khan, Mohammad Imran Khan, Mohammad Bakhsh Awan and Sakhi Ghazali were among others who spoke on the occasion.
The KBA unanimously approved a resolution condemning harassment of Amir Rana, a nephew of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, in Quetta, and warned that such actions could warrant strong public reaction.
The Bar also slammed award of the title ‘Sir’ by the United Kingdom to Salman Rushdie, and described it as “a new attempt to offend Muslims”.
Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) held its general body meeting on the premises of the Sindh High Court on Monday and adopted two resolutions, one against the armed attack on Amir Rana’s house and the other against the UK governments awarding to ‘Sir’ title to Salman Rushdie. SHCBA Joint Secretary Ahmed Nafees Osmani, Mustafa Lakhani and Fariduddin were among those who addressed the meeting.
PROTEST: As part of their continued campaign, lawyers at the Sindh High Court, the City Courts and Malir District Court on Monday observed a one-hour boycott of court proceedings and groups of lawyers staged a token hunger strike against the CJ’s suspension.
