KARACHI, April 30: The Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights on Monday urged citizens to join hands with lawyers in their struggle for the independence and supremacy of judiciary.

Addressing a press conference at the Press Club, Dr Amna Buttar said the struggle of lawyers, who are being supported by various groups and civil society organisations, would pave the way for the restoration of true democracy.

She said Pakistanis living in the United States, particularly the network members, were very concerned about the current judiciary crisis involving Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

She said she had come to express solidarity with the chief justice and the struggle of the lawyers. She condemned the police brutalities against the protesters.

During the protest on April 3 in the Supreme Court in Islamabad, she had been allegedly manhandled by a law-enforcer. She said she approached the SP on site to register her complaint and he referred her to a magistrate, who also did not listen to her.

She said after a few days when she approached Federal Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao on April 14, he assured that her complaint would be looked into, but nothing had been done since then.

She demanded that the abuser be arrested and punished according to the law. She said she had been targeted as she and her family had been receiving threats from an intelligence agency.

Anis Haroon of Aurat Foundation said the government blamed the organisations, which were highlighting the human rights issues, for bringing bad name to the country. She said the government should learn from the past mistakes instead of blaming others for its wrongdoings.