KARACHI, May 10: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Sindh Bar Council (SBC) have turned down the Sindh government’s request to cancel the May 12 rally to accord a rousing welcome to Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on his arrival in Karachi, maintaining that it was not a political rally but purely part of the ongoing campaign for the independence of the judiciary.

The lawyers’ organisations urged the Muttahida Qaumi Movement leadership to change the date and venue of its peace rally scheduled for the same day, arguing that being the major component of the ruling coalition in Sindh, the party ought to facilitate the lawyers’ rally and ensure complete peace on the occasion.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, PBC members Abul Inam and Mohammad Yasin Azad, and SBC members Zia Ahmed Awan, Salahuddin Gandapur, Mustafa Lakhani, Mohammad Hanif Bhatti, Sadiq Hidayatullah, Khalil Dogar, Mohammad Aaqil, Abdullah Chandio, Sati M. Ishaq, Fahim Riaz Siddiqui, Akhtar Hussain and Mushtaq Awan said that the lawyer fraternity had planned to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Supreme Court on March 23 but it was put off for certain reasons. They said the lawyers wanted to celebrate the occasion now.

They referred to a message addressed to SHCBA President Abrar Hasan and faxed by Adviser to the Chief Minister on Home Wasim Akhtar and said the adviser had asked for cancellation of the rally. They said: “The aim of our peaceful rally is to get the judiciary’s independence restored.” They warned that cases would be lodged against those who tried to cause harm to any participant of the rally.

“No one can stop citizens from raising their voice for their democratic rights,” they asserted.

Condemning the forced closure of the office of Munir A. Malik, a counsel for Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in the presidential reference, and firing on the residence of the lawyer as ‘acts of terrorism’, they said that such acts and the recent incidents of bomb hoax at the SHC and attempted kidnapping of a lawyer, Akhtar Hussain, were tactics to terrorise the lawyers fraternity.

They said days of the military rulers were numbered, and appealed to people from all walks of life to participate in the Saturday rally for the independence of the judiciary and against the military dictatorship.

They said that those talking of a state of emergency in the country had actually failed to maintain law and order in the country and address people’s grievances. “Such rulers have no right to remain in power anymore,” they added.