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| November 04, 2007 | Sunday | Shawwal 22, 1428 |
Martial law in garb of emergency: Bar
They have issued a call for waging a movement and expect the political parties and civil society to join hands with them to overthrow the regime.
Talking to Dawn, Hamid Khan said issuance of the Provisional Constitutional Order with the suspension of the Constitution made it a clear case of emergency. He added that Musharraf, while playing down the imposition of martial law, had tagged it emergency.
Hamid, who heads the professional group of lawyers, said the community condemned the extra-constitutional step for which the government had no justification. He said Gen Musharraf had imposed the martial law to save his rule because he knew that the judges of the Supreme Court would rule against his re-election.
He said the issuance of the PCO clearly indicated that he wanted to remove the judges who were against his unconstitutional regime. Hamid said the lawyers would not flinch in re-launching their movement against Gen Musharraf along with the political parties.
Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jehangir said Gen Musharraf had resorted to desperate measures which would not go down well with the people of Pakistan. She said it was about time the general left peacefully.
She said: “We have seen this happen before. And I must warn that the situation is equally explosive for him.” She added that the lawyers, civil society and political parties would join the campaign to oust dictatorship.
Lahore High Court Bar Association President Ahsan Bhoon said another unconstitutional step would add to the chaos and disarray which had been aggravating every hour due to Gen Musharraf’s regime. The lawyers would not accept the judges’ oath under the PCO and wage a massive movement along with the people to undo the martial law.
He said Benazir Bhutto had told him that the PPP would join hands with all political parties to serve as a bulwark against the dictatorship and for the independence of judiciary. Lahore Bar Association President Syed Muhammad Shah said the lawyers now see a fierce movement in reaction to the imposition of martial law.
He added the lawyers had demonstrated their strength during the movement for the restoration of the chief justice of Pakistan, and would once again succeed in restoring democracy in the country.
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