July 06, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 20, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 5: The Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association have decided not to attend the two-day multi-party conference opening in London on Saturday due to the prevailing situation in Pakistan. Their leaders have sent a four-point charter for inclusion in the final declaration.

The decision was conveyed to PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, the host of the event, through a joint letter by SCBA president Munir Malik and PBC vice-chairman Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig. Copies of the letter were also sent to heads of other political parties attending the conference.

Office-bearers of the PBC and the SCBA presented the four points on behalf of the lawyers’ community, hoping that these would be given “due weight”.

They said lawyers expected that “no political party would enter into any compromise or even involve itself in any dialogue with the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf; no political party would participate in any elections held under Gen Pervez Musharraf which were bound to be rigged and fraudulent; an election commissioner be appointed immediately by the consensus of the political parties before the general elections are announced; and that Gen Pervez Musharraf should resign from the offices of the president and chief of army staff before the elections are announced”.

“It is our resolve to achieve independence of judiciary under Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to put to an end the military dictatorship in Pakistan, once and for all; to establish the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution and to ensure free and fair elections through a strong and independent election commission,” the letter stated.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn from London by telephone, PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra ruled out the possibility of postponing the MPC.

He said the letter of the lawyers’ representatives was encouraging and it would be read out at the conference.