December 27, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 16, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Dec 26: Lawyers in Rawalpindi and its adjoining areas on Wednesday observed a black day against manhandling of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Aitzaz Ahsan a day before Eidul Azha by the Punjab police.

The Rawalpindi Bar Association (RBA) in a general house meeting chaired by finance secretary SCBA Zaheer Ahmed Qadri condemned what they called the callousness of the government and brutality of the police against the lawyers’ leader.

The meeting criticised President Pervez Musharraf for crippling the higher judiciary and creating uncertainty in the country.

The SCBA president was coming to Islamabad from Lahore to offer Eid prayer at the Faisal mosque when he was reportedly bundled into an open police van and driven back to Lahore.

Mr Qadri said the executive committee of SCBA would draw its future strategy about their struggle for restoration of judiciary in a meeting on January 4. He said if they were not allowed to hold the meeting in the Supreme Court building, the lawyers would meet in front of the residence of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

ATTOCK: The lawyers of Attock also observed a black day and boycotted court proceedings.

They termed the rearrest of Aitzaz a worst kind of human rights violation.

They also condemned the rearrest of Ali Ahmad Kurd and Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood and the humiliating attitude meted out to former SCBA president Munir A. Malik.

TAXILA: Lawyers of Taxila and Wah Cantonment also observed a black day on the call of Pakistan Bar Council.

Talking to newsmen, Taxila Bar Association president Muneer Khan said the lawyers condemned the rearrest of the SCBA president.

He said the government ridiculed the Constitution and violated basic human rights, adding the bar would continue its struggle for the independence of judiciary, supremacy of the constitution and respect of human rights.

He vowed to continue the movement for restoration of deposed judges, supremacy of constitution and rule of law.

CHAKWAL: The lawyers of Chakwal observed complete strike to condemn the police torture on the SCBA president, adds PPI.

The lawyers boycotted the courts at Chakwal, Talagang and Choa Syedan Shah. As a result, the litigants faced great hardships to pursue their cases. All the judicial work remained suspended and the litigants were given new dates for hearing of their cases.