RAWALPINDI, Jan 15: Lawyers at a meeting here on Tuesday condemned the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council to end the continuous boycott of the superior courts’ judges, who had taken oath under the PCO on November 3 last year.

Speaking at the general body meeting of the Rawalpindi Bar Association (RBA), they said despite the financial constraints the lawyers of the Pindi bar wanted to continue the boycott of the superior courts. Appearing before these courts was tantamount to giving legality to the November-3 unconstitutional acts of the regime, they added.

The speakers, mostly young lawyers, called the PBC decision against the spirit of the on-going struggle of the lawyers for the independence of the judiciary and rule of law. No doubt, the lawyers are facing financial problems because of the boycott but we are ready to sacrifice every thing for establishing the rule of law, the charged lawyers said.

Some of them even questioned the authority of the PBC for taking any ‘political decision’. The bar council is not a representative body but a regulatory one, they said, adding that the lawyers are represented by the bar associations and they are not willing to give up their movement for the independence of the judiciary.

Majority of the lawyers refused to take part in the scheduled protest rally and their march towards Kachari chowk, as a result protest was not carried out.

General Secretary RBA Sajid Tanoli while talking to Dawn said it was binding on the lawyers to comply with the decision of the PBC, though they had reservations about it. The RBA will follow the decision of the High Court Bar Association Rawalpindi (HCBAR) about the boycott of the PCO- judges, he added.