LAHORE, Oct 16: Lawyers generally ignored the strike call initially given by the Lahore High Court Bar Association on Tuesday.

A number of protesters who insisted on observing a strike against the government policy on Afghanistan burnt three effigies on the LHC premises and dispersed after raising some slogans.

Speaking for the protesters, Hafiz Abdur Rahman Ansari described the strike as a success and regretted that the LHCBA office-bearers had withdrawn the call. There were two general body resolutions against the bombing of Afghanistan and there was no need for a prior approval for every demonstration. After all, LHCBA office-bearers and other lawyers took out a procession without there being a specific general body move in this behalf.

LHCBA president Mian Asrarul Haq and secretary Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said the abortive call was a result of confusion created by some politically-motivated lawyers. The association had invited the chief justice and judges of the Lahore High Court for inauguration of its diagnostic centre on Tuesday. How could it give a strike call for the same day? they asked. In any case, they emphasized a strike could not be observed without a formal general body decision.

Supporting the office-bearers’ stance, ANP senior vice-president Ehsan Wyne said lawyers were not subservient to any political party or parties and a few of them could not impose their will on the entire community.

Advocate MD Tahir was among the lawyers who observed the strike. He did not appear in any of his 15 cases listed for Tuesday.