June 17, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 12, 1429

HAIRPUR, June 16: Supreme Court Bar Association president Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has said that lawyers’ movement will continue till the restoration of all deposed judges of the superior judiciary.

He was talking to journalists at the residence of SCBA vice president Saeed Akhtar Khan where he had gone to condole with him the death of his father. Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Peshawar High Court deposed chief justice Tariq Pervez Khan and senior lawyers from Haripur, Abbottabad, Islamabad and Peshawar were also present on the occasion.

Aitzaz made it clear that until and unless Justice Chaudhry and his colleagues were restored, the lawyers’ struggle would continue and more marches would be organised.

“The governments of the USA and Britain that are supporting Gen Musharraf must realise that how the people of Pakistan are anxious about reinstatement of judiciary and their liberal minded judges,” he added.

To a question he termed the long march as the most successful event, saying that lawyers achieved two objectives due to the long march. Firstly the government agreed to release the salaries of deposed judges and secondly it brought a bill enhancing the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 29, he said.

“After this if somebody thinks about running the affairs of the country in accordance with the wishes and will of the people without restoration of judges they are living in paradise of fools,” he said, adding that judges could be restored through an executive order and there was no need for bringing constitutional amendments.