April 19, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1429

KARACHI, April 18: Sindh Minister for Law Ayaz Soomro has condemned the April 9 violence in the city and pledged that the elements involved in the shooting, arson and disturbances will be exposed and punished in accordance with the relevant laws.

Speaking at the general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association held in the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall on the City Courts premises on Friday, the minister commended the legal fraternity’s movement for the supremacy of the Constitution and the judiciary, and said it was the their sustained struggle the sacrifice offered by Benazir Bhutto that forced Gen Pervez Musharraf to doff his military uniform and hold general elections for the restoration of democracy in the country.

Mr Soomro assured the legal fraternity that the victims of the April 9 violence would suitably be compensated.

He also announced a grant of Rs1 million for the KBA, and pledged that the offices of lawyers damaged during the April 9 violence would be repaired and renovated by the government.

Mr Soomro further stated that the lawyers who had suffered financially during the year-long movement would be offered the job of public prosecutors. The government would also introduce a retainership programme for the lawyers, he added.