January 10, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 30, 1428

LAHORE, Jan 9: The Supreme Court Bar Association has announced joining the Lahore Bar Association’s rally to be taken out from Aiwan-i-Adl to Punjab Assembly building on The Mall on Thursday (today) to press for the restoration of deposed judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts.

“It is going to be a big rally. I have informed the Lahore High Court Bar Association as well about our plan. We will march on The Mall to the Punjab Assembly building,” LBA president Syed Muhammad Shah told Dawn.

The rally would serve as part of the lawyers’ ongoing protest against ousting and detention of superior courts judges and bar leaders and prominent lawyers. The lawyers have also been boycotting court proceedings at superior courts in a protest against the judges who took oath under the Nov 3 Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

The PCO was issued after the imposition of state of emergency, which the lawyers called “a martial law by General Musharraf to get rid of hostile judges”.

The Joint Action Committee of the lawyers on Jan 13 will review progress of the protest and mull options of observing a daylong court boycott once a week and one-hour daily strike instead of continuous court boycott in order to provide relief to the litigants.

The Thursday protest remained in low key during the past several weeks because of electioneering, Eid holidays and assassination of Ms Bhutto. —Reporter