April 10, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1429

KARACHI, April 9: Lawyers at a general body meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association condemned on Wednesday the attack and manhandling of the former chief minister of Sindh, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and the former federal minister, Sher Afgan Niazi.

Presided over by Rasheed A. Razvi, the meeting while considering the hooliganism in Sindh Assembly and maltreatment of Sher Afgan Niazi unanimously passed a resolution, observing that the bar association strongly believed in the principles of democracy and the rule of law; the lawyers community equally believed in the role of opposition parties for a strong democratic system and in the principles of equality and tolerance; the house also believed that those persons responsible for violation of the constitution and other illegal acts should not go unpunished.

The resolution says, “The Sindh High Court Bar Association strongly condemns the acts of violence committed on former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and former federal minister Sher Afgan Niazi, and clarifies that such unlawful acts were committed by the personnel of agencies and those elements who always opposed democracy in Pakistan.

“The lawyers’ community always believes in peaceful struggle and has never resorted to any violence despite the fact that they (the lawyers) were subjected to severe torture and violent acts of the police and law-enforcement agencies, such as the incidents of Lahore, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi and Karachi.”

It says the house also condemns the acts of some Mianwali citizens who have burnt the offices of lawyers and the district bar room. “This association notes with great pain and sorrow that while the print and electronic media have unnecessarily highlighted the acts of violence, on the other hand, it has not displayed the hooliganism committed on the properties of lawyers in Mianwali,” it observes.

Aitzaz resignation

The bar association while reposing complete and unshaken confidence in the leadership of the Supreme Court Bar Association president, Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan, in all earnest urged him to review his decision and immediately withdraw his resignation otherwise, it would cause irreparable damage to lawyers’ movement.

The resolution appealed to the nation in general and lawyers’ community in particular to remain united and peaceful and to thwart all efforts aimed at derailing the democratic process started in the country after February 18, 2008.

The meeting was followed by a token hunger strike by Tauqeer A. Khan and Naveed Ahmed Khan.—APP