ABBOTTABAD, May 27: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will arrive here on June 2 to address a lawyers’ convention at the district bar club.

The convention has been organised jointly by the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, Abbottabad Circuit, and the Abbottabad District Bar Association.

Qazi Muhammad Arshad, President of the Abbottabad District Bar Association, told Dawn on Sunday that invitations to all district bar associations of the country had been extended, adding that all judges of the Peshawar High Court had also been invited to attend the event.

He said the chief justice would address the convention at 2pm, but the timing of the address might be extended if the chief justice did not arrive on time as was expected because of huge receptions he was expected to receive in Hasanabdal, Mardan and Haripur.

He said four big screens would be installed at different points in the city to facilitate workers and supporters of different political parties to listen to the speech of the chief justice.

In reply to a question about participation of political parties at the convention, Qazi Arshad advocate said that leaders of political parities would not be allowed go to the venue and it would be purely a “lawyers’ show”. But outside the venue and along the route of the procession, all people would be welcomed.

Mr Arshad said that all former judges of the Supreme Court and the NWFP High Court had been invited to attend the convention.

In a related development, almost all political parties, including PML(N), PPP(P) Tehrik-i-Insaaf, ANP, PYO and human rights organisations have planned to set up reception camps along the route of the chief justice’s procession from Chari Kass, the boundary of the NWFP, and Punjab to the main venue.

Leaders of PML(N), PPP(P) TI, ANP, JI and other parties in Hazara Division have been holding meetings for the past couple of days to accord the chief justice a rousing welcome.