January 16, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 06, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 15: Lawyers at the City Courts observed on Tuesday stayed away from legal proceedings against the detention of Rana Bhagwandas, the former acting chief justice of Supreme Court.

The police lock-up on the court premises remained closed since the under-trial prisoners were not brought from different prisons of the city due to the lawyers’ strike.

The courts wore a deserted look as all businesses, except for a few canteens, remained closed. All the stationary shops and cabins on the court premises remained shut while some stamp vendors who did open their shops had to close down the same due to lack of business. However, it was observed that judges were present in their chambers though most of the gates had been locked to make the strike successful.

The Karachi Bar Association, meanwhile, held its general body meeting at Shuhda-i-Punjab Hall of City Courts in protest against the detention of former justice Rana Bhagwandas.

The lawyers demanded immediate release of former acting chief justice Rana Bhagwandas, deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, Pakistan Bar Council President Aitzaz Ahsan, former justice Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd.

KBA President Mahmoodul Hasan deplored that fresh food produce was spinning out of the reach of a common man despite the fact that Pakistan was an agricultural state.

Mr Hasan condemned the detention of the deposed judges and the leadership of Pakistan Bar Council and demanded their immediate release.

KBA General Secretary Naeem Qureshi condemned the Quaidabad bomb blast, in which at least 10 people were killed and 50 others were injured.

He also criticised the government for the price hike in food items and attack on the Awami National Party offices in Peshawar on Monday.

He sought immediate formation of an independent election commission to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

KBA Vice President Mushtaq Ahmed Jahangiri, Joint Secretary Muzafar Iqbal Sufi, Waheed Baloch and Fateh Ali Shah also spoke.

They vowed to continue the ongoing struggle till the reinstatement of the deposed judges, the independence of the judiciary, the supremacy of the constitution and the restoration of democracy.

The Karachi Bar Association, meanwhile, announced that one-hour boycott from 11am to 12noon would be observed in courts on daily basis in line with the announcement of the Pakistan Bar Council.

The association also declared that a complete boycott of court proceedings would be observed on every Thursday to protest against the ousting of judges, amendments made to the constitution and the Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Act, 1973 by President Musharraf.

SHCBA resumes hunger strike

The Sindh High Court Bar Association resumed its token hunger strike protest on Tuesday.

The protest was discontinued on July 20 after the Supreme Court’s judgment in favour of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. A corner in the bar room has been set apart for the strikers. The first batch of strikers consisted of Advocates Qari Subhan Sharif, Azizuddin Qureshi and Hamid Munir.

They were garlanded by their colleagues at 11pm and offered juices to end their protest at 1pm by SHCBA Secretary Muninur Rehman. No speeches were made on the occasion. The decision to end court boycott and resume token protest was taken by the Pakistan Bar Council.