ABBOTTABAD, May 11: Lawyers on Friday completely boycotted court proceedings here to show solidarity with Supreme Court Bar Association president Munir A. Malik, one of the counsel of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

They condemned the armed attack on Mr Malik’s residence and also the sealing of his office in Karachi.

A protest meeting was called by the Abbottabad Circuit Bar Association.

Office-bearers of various legal bodies blamed the federal and Sindh governments for the deteriorating situation in Karachi and said they feared there might be a clash there, “providing the much-needed justification for imposing a state of emergency in the country”.

The president of the High Court Bar Association, Abbottabad Circuit Bench, Shad

Muhammad Khan, member of the Pakistan Bar Council Fazal-i-Haq Abbasi, member of the NWFP Bar Council Adam Khan Jadoon, president of the Abbottabad District

Bar Association Qazi Muhammad Arshad, Tehmas Khan Jadoon, Mehdi Zaman and Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah addressed the meeting.

Lawyers demanded a judicial inquiry into the attack to assign blame for it and to award exemplary punishment to people behind it.