KARACHI, July 5: The city’s lawyers on Thursday condemned the government for having conducted the Lal Masjid operation and termed it an attempt to divert public attention from other pressing issues including the lawyers’ movement for judicial independence and the floods in Balochistan and the NWFP.

At a press conference, the vice-chairman of the Sindh Bar Council (SBC), Mohammad Amin Lakhani, the chairman of the SBC human rights’ committee, Aqil Lodhi, and other SBC members said that “the government has staged this drama only to divert attention from pressing issues.” They condemned strongly the proposal to give Rs5,000 to each person who surrenders from Lal Masjid and accused the government of not spending a singly penny on the flood-hit areas. They added that the government’s motive for publicising the issue is to seek aid from the US and the European Union. Meanwhile, at a general body meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SCHBA) held at the Sindh High Court (SHC) bar room, speakers termed the Lal Masjid operation an attempt to divert people’s attention from the lawyers’ unity and struggle, which, they said, had baffled the government.

With SBC member Mustafa Lakhani, SBC member Salahuddin Gandapur accused the dictators of patronising fundamentalist organisations and creating the Lal Masjid issue. However, he added, the legal fraternity would foil the rulers’ conspiracies and not allow the country’s citizenry to be fooled.

Joint secretary of the SCHBA Ahmed Nafees Usmani and SBC member Sathi Ishaq reiterated that the lawyers’ movement would succeed despite the fact that the government’s increasingly ugly tactics now included levelling allegations against the judiciary. However, they said, the legal fraternity was resolved to continue its struggle until the withdrawal of the presidential reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

At the call of the Pakistan Bar Council which has declared a court boycott every Thursday until the reference against CJ Chaudhry is withdrawn, Karachi’s lawyers observed a complete boycott of court proceedings in the Sindh High Court, the City Courts and other courts. Court proceedings came to a standstill and all cases were adjourned, while shops and kiosks on court premises remained closed due to the strike.

SCHBA members and advocates Raja Shahzad Janjua and Qari Mohammed Subhan Sharif observed token hunger strikes at the SHC bar room, while four members of the KBA observed token hunger strikes at the City Courts. — PPI