LAHORE, June 5: Lawyers on Tuesday burnt copies of Pemra (amendment) Ordinance, 2007 on the Lower Mall and observed a hunger strike against what they termed an attempt to gag press.

Lawyers of the Lahore Bar Association burnt the copies and that of Supreme Court Bar Association observed the hunger strike. Around 200 LBA lawyers gathered on The Lower Mall, who tore apart the copies and set them on fire.

Among those who attended the hunger strike were Punjab vice-president of Supreme Court Bar Association Sahibzada Anwar Hamid, secretary Zulfiqar Ali Bokhari, executive members, Mian Yousaf Umar, Khwaja Tariq Suhail, Haji Rafi Siddiqi and media coordinator Muhammad Azhar Siddiqui.

The lawyers’ bodies announced that their upcoming rally on Thursday (tomorrow) would focus only on the ordinance and the curbs being placed on media in a bid to keep people away from facts.

The rally would be called `Freedom of Press Rally’, said the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA).

The SCBA, Punjab Bar Council, LHCBA and LBA said they had rejected amendments to the ordinance. —Staff Reporter