KARACHI, April 16: The lawyers’ fraternity on Monday continued its campaign in the city courts and Malir district against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Twelve members of Karachi Bar Association (KBA) observed a token hunger strike in the city courts. They were Zubair Ishaq, Maroof Hussain Hashmi, Mohammad Qasim Niazi,Mehmood Habibullah, Raja Mohammad Ashraf, M.I. Aasi Baba, Kamran Alam, Nasir Mehmood, Mehtab Ahmed, Azhar Hussein, Sohrab Ahmed and Mohammad Jurial Rajper.

Lawyers in the city courts gathered at the hunger strike camp. Later they walked in a procession to the city courts premises and raised slogans against President Pervez Musharraf, the federal minister for information and Chief Minister Sindh. General Secretary KBA Naeem Qureshi speaking on the occasion appreciated the Sindh High Court judges for attending the reception hosted for the CJP in Hyderabad.

He said the campaign would continue till the CJP’s reinstatement. He said only an independent judiciary could ensure the protection of people’s rights and it was the duty of lawyers to help the people get justice. He appreciated the lawyers’ efforts of preferring the campaign over their personal activities.

He said “journalists are our brothers and we appreciate the efforts they have made for independence of the judiciary.” He said both lawyers and journalists were associated with sacred professions.

Four members of Malir Bar Association (MBA) observed a token hunger strike. They were Miss Ulfat Shah, Pervez Akhtar, Mohammad Iqbal Aqeel and Syed Farooq Sherazi. Lawyers in a procession came out from the bar room and walked to the courts’ premises. They shouted slogans against the government. They also stayed away from courts from 10.30am to 11.30am.

President MBA Zahoor Hussain Mehar, General Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Samoo, other senior lawyers Hafeez Baloch and Imdad Solangi spoke on the occasion. They said lawyers were fully committed to continue the struggle for independence of judiciary and reinstatement of CJP.

They said members of the MBA were following the decisions of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and would do so in the best interests of the lawyers’ fraternity and judiciary.