BAHAWALPUR, April 13: District Bar Association President Yahya Khan has claimed that he had rejected the government’s offer of Rs2.5 million for allowing the address of a federal minister to the bar members.

Speaking to the general-body meeting held to protest against the government over the judicial crisis, he disclosed that he was approached by a government official who offered him Rs2.5 million for inviting the minister to the bar.

His rejection announcement was cheered by the bar members present at the meeting, chaired by Punjab Bar Council member Tahir Mufti. The bar president and other speakers condemned the presidential reference against the CJP and reaffirmed their commitment to continue the protest till his reinstatement.

Earlier, the lawyers observed complete strike and after the meeting they took out a protest rally to Farid Gate and back.

In a major crackdown on Thursday night, the district police took into custody eight activists of the PPP and the PML-N in Bahawalpur and Yazman tehsils.

Sources told Dawn that the arrests were made under 16-MPO. Those arrested were: PML-N divisional information secretary Imran Ghauri, youth wing leader Hammad Mirani, ex-UC nazim Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum, PPP’s Tathearul Hassan, secretary-general Asghar Gill, finance secretary Ali Akbar, councillor Sajid Khan and Yaqoob Chishti.

All the arrested men were produced before magistrates who sent them to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

The leaders of the ARD’s component parties had managed earlier to leave for Islamabad to participate in protest demonstrations.