PESHAWAR, Aug 21 The lawyers on Thursday called upon the government to try former president Pervez Musharraf for abrogating the constitution and various other offences including the kidnapping of Dr Afia Siddiqui and her three children.

Rejecting the no minus-one formula they said that only Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was acceptable to them as Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Amid boycott of courts on the call of Pakistan Bar Council, a joint general body meeting of Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) and Peshawar District Bar Association (PDBA) asked the government to restore the pre-Nov 3 judiciary within 24 hours failing which they would evolve future course of action. They alleged that Pervez Musharraf and his son Bilal Musharraf were involved in kidnapping of Dr Afia in 2003 and they had sold her out to the Americans. They said that the ouster of Musharraf was a result of the lawyers` movement and the courage showed by Justice Chaudhry who stood against a military ruler and declined to take oath under the PCO.

PHCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi said that Musharraf should be tried for high treason under article 6 of the Constitution. He added that the deposed judges should be forthwith restored so that the objective of establishing an independent judiciary could be achieved.

Mr Afridi stated that after Feb 18 polls the government was powerless due to presence of Musharraf but now after his resignation the government could easily restore the judges. He urged the government to address the issue of insurgency, stating that it would not remain confined to Pakhtunkhwa and would take into its fold the entire country.

PDBA president Fazalur Rehman Khan said that their movement would continue till restoration of all the deposed judges. He added that an independent judiciary was vital for the development of democracy and progress in the country.

The meting was followed by a protest demonstration. The protesting lawyers took out a procession from the high court and marched up to the NWFP Assembly. The protesters were raising slogans in favour of Justice Iftikharr Chaudhry.

Near the assembly building they blocked the road for quite sometime. The protesters were demanding of the assembly members to raise the issue of restoration of judges in the ongoing session. The procession then returned back to the high court and culminated there.