April 25, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1429

HYDERABAD, April 24: Lawyers’ boycott of courts across Sindh was continued on Thursday as they vowed to only accept the judiciary that existed before the November 3 of last year.

Protest rallies were taken out in different parts of province in support of lawyers’ demand for reinstatement of deposed judges.

In Hyderabad, lawyers did not appear before the courts as per their weekly protest programme on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

They held a protest general body meeting in civil courts.

Speaking on the occasion, High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Hyderabad chapter President Abdul Sattar Kazi said that lawyers and rulers’ survival depend on the restoration of judiciary that existed on November 2, 2007, and lawyers would only accept the pre-November 3 judiciary.

He said that no amendment would be accepted in this regard.

The lawyers also took out a rally. They wore black armbands and demanded resignation of President Pervez Musharraf.

In Mirpurkhas, lawyers boycotted courts proceedings, wore black armbands and hoisted black flags on the district bar room.

A meeting of the bar was held which was addressed by Salahuddin Panhwar, Asghar Ali Channa, Sain Bux Wassan and others.

They said that their campaign would continue till the restoration of judiciary.

In Sukkur, lawyers stayed away from courts and staged protest demonstration in front of the district and session courts.

Speaking on the occasion, High Court Bar Association Sukkur chapter President Imdad Ali Awan, General Secretary Ghulam Shabbir Shar and District Bar Association Sukkur President Qurban Ali Malano said that the countdown of 30 days was near its end and if the deposed judges were not restored within 30-day, lawyers would launch a country-wide protest, which could prove troublesome for the government.