January 04, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 24, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 3: The legal proceedings remained suspended at the City Courts and Malir District Courts on Thursday because of the lawyers’ day-long boycott of courts.

A strike call was given by the Pakistan Bar Council to protest against the ousting of the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, amendments to the constitution, detention of lawyers, including the PBC leadership, and amendments to the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973.

Though judges were present in their chambers, cases could not be proceeded as the lawyers stayed away from courts. About 179 under-trial prisoners were brought to the City Courts from different prisons of the city, but were taken back without being produced in courts.

Stationery traders did not open their shops but stamp vendors’ stalls and canteens of the City Courts remained open.

Meanwhile, the legal fraternity at a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA), held in the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall of the City Courts, vowed to continue their struggle against the ousting of the chief justice and other judges, the arrest and detention of the top leadership of the PBC and other lawyers across the country and the amendments made by President Musharraf to the constitution.

Karachi Bar Association president Mahmood-ul-Hassan, criticising the postponement of Jan 8 elections, said the government was not sincere in holding general election. “It is not willing to hold general election even on Feb 18,” he added.

He condemned the incidents of looting, destruction of public and private properties and vehicles after the assassination of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Dec 27, and criticized the Sindh administration and the law-enforcement agencies for not taking a timely action against the miscreants and instead detaining innocent people in this regard.“The leaders of the major political parties had demanded an international inquiry into the Oct 18 blasts, but the government had turned down the demand and formed a tribunal and appointed a retied judge as its head instead of appointing the then sitting judges,” he said and added that the government had destroyed those constitutional institutions that gave protection to the common man in order to cover up its unconstitutional and illegal actions.

KBA general secretary Naeem Qureshi demanded a judicial inquiry into the looting and vandalism, and said the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies had failed to protect the people and their properties, therefore, cases should be registered against them.

He urged the political parties to boycott the upcoming general election since it would be pre-rigged. He also demanded that the government immediately release Pakistan Bar Council chief Aitzaz Ahsan.

Shahadat Awan condemned the postponement of general election and urged the government to appoint an independent chief election commissioner to hold fair and transparent elections.

He demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The conflicting statements from government officials about the death of the PPP chairperson reflected that the government was behind her assassination, he added.

Abdul Waheed asked the government to form a committee under the supervision of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to investigate Ms Bhutto’s assassination.

Mushtaq Ahmed Awan, condemning the assassination of the PPP lealer, said it was a tragedy for both the nation and the country.

He was of the view that external elements could be behind the looting and damaging public properties, and urged the Sindh government to arrest those elements and punish them according to the law. The president of the Malir Bar Association, Zahoor Hussain Mehar, told Dawn that a complete strike was observed at the Malir District Courts on Thursday on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Meanwhile, a 30-strong delegation of the Malir Bar Association condoled with Asif Ali Zardari and other PPP leaders the death of Ms Bhutto at Naudero on Thursday.