PESHAWAR, Nov 29: Lawyers on Thursday observed ‘black day’ in protest against President Pervez Musharraf’s oath-taking as civilian president for a five-year term and called upon all political parties to boycott the next elections.
The lawyers boycotted court proceedings as their strike at the Peshawar High Court entered the 25th day.
A joint meeting of the Peshawar High Court and Peshawar District Bar Associations was held on the premises of the high court with senior advocate and provincial president of the Muslim League Lawyers Wing (N) Abdul Sattar Khan in the chair.
Barrister Baachaa, Mussarat Hilali, Shakeel Khan, Abdul Samad Marwat, Abdullah Sani and Sattar Khan spoke at the meeting.
The speakers warned that political parties would give legitimacy to the illegal rule of Mr Musharraf if they participated in the polls.
They denounced the oath-taking of Gen (retd) Musharraf and wondered how could a person who had violated the Constitution on a number of occasions and kept it in abeyance had taken an oath under the same Constitution.
They recalled that Gen Musharraf had called his uniform his second skin but added that lawyers had forced him to shed it.
Barrister Baachaa said the judges of superior courts were under house arrest and nobody was being allowed to meet them. He narrated his visit to Islamabad to meet the deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Sardar Raza Khan but, he said, police did not allow him to meet them.
The speakers said the restoration of the pre-emergency judiciary was their prime goal and their movement would only continue till they achieve their objective.
They regretted that political parties were campaigning for the polls after ignoring the sacrifices rendered by the judiciary and lawyers’ fraternity.
They said the Constitution clearly stated that no government servant could become president before two years had lapsed after his retirement.
The meeting was followed by a demonstration and protesters chanted slogans of “go Musharraf go” and “long live Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.”
In the evening, lawyers held a candlelit vigil at the high court and prayed for the success of their movement.
MARDAN: Lawyers took out a procession here against the imposition of emergency rule and Gen Musharraf.
They scuffled with police when they were prevented from coming out on the main road and broke down the gate of the district courts. They held a public meeting at the Justice Iftikhar Chowk.
Lawyers had renamed the Meezan Chowk as Justice Iftikhar Chowk.
It may be recalled that the same chowk in 1991 had been renamed as Saddam Chowk during the Gulf war. Later, a meeting was held in the bar room which condemned the imposition of emergency rule and curbs on the media.
The meeting adopted resolutions demanding the lifting of emergency, restoration of the Constitution, reinstatement of deposed judges and withdrawal of the amendment in the Army Act.
