June 19, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 03, 1428

QUETTA, June 18: Lawyers on Monday boycotted court proceedings in the city in protest against an attack on the house of advocate Amir Rana, nephew of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, by intelligence personnel.

They said that the army and spy agencies should perform their duty on the borders to strengthen the country’s defence and stop meddling in politics.

The call to boycott court proceedings was given by the Balochistan Bar Association, Balochistan High Court Bar Association and the Balochistan Bar Council.

The lawyers took out a procession from the district court and gathered at the Liaquat Park.

They carried black flags and raised slogans against intelligence agencies for harassing political opponents.

Condemning the role of secret agencies, Hadi Shakeel Ahmed, president of the BHCBA, said the army’s duty was to fight the enemy and not to raid houses of civilians.

He said that the army’s interference in politics had diverted the attention of lawmakers, lawyers, journalists and intellectuals from the excesses of the establishment in relation to rights of the people.

Mr Shakeel said that Islam and traditions did not allow security personnel to enter a house without the owner’s permission.

He said that the government wanted to persecute advocate Rana in order to put pressure on the chief justice who had refused to tender resignation.

Senior lawyer Khalid Khan Kakar said that the lawyers’ movement would continue till the restoration of rule of law and independence of the judiciary.