February 05, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 26, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Feb 4: The Rawalpindi Bar Association (RBA) on Monday condemned the rearrest of lawyers’ leaders and termed the government action a blatant violation of the law.

Presiding over a meeting, vice-president RBA Farhad Iqbal Khattak said the government would not be able to stop the lawyers from continuing the struggle for independence of the judiciary.

Other speakers said only a civil disobedience movement could counter the unlawful acts of the administration.

They said if the law enforcers themselves violated the laws who else would care for the constitution. The flagrant violation of the basic laws by the government is a bad precedent for the law abiding citizens, they maintained.

They said the allegations levelled by President Musharraf against the deposed chief justice were false as the same had been set aside by a 13-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 20 2007.

The lawyers said the deposed CJ had fought a legal battle and won it, while now he was incarcerated and denied any opportunity to defend himself. It was, therefore, an unlawful act on part of the president to publicly accuse the ousted CJ of corruption and inefficiency.

The lawyers despite heavy rain brought out a protest rally within the premises of the courts and chanted anti-government and pro-deposed judges slogans.

They demanded immediate release of Aitzaz Ahsan, Justice (retired) Tariq Mehmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd.

Prior to leaving the bar premises, the lawyers also staged a sit-in at a hunger strike camp to show solidarity with the deposed and detained judges of the higher judiciary.