0
KARACHI, July 6: The legal fraternity on Friday alleged that the Lal Masjid issue was created by the government to divert the people’s attention away from the real issues confronting the nation.
The lawyers stayed away from court proceedings for an hour from 10.30am to 11.30am in line with the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council to protest against the presidential reference filed against Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
A meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association was held with its President Abrar Hasan in the chair. SHCBA Joint-Secretary Ahmed Nafees Osmani told Dawn that the Lal Masjid issue was an attempt to divert the people’s attention from the worsening situation of floods in Balochistan and the judicial crisis.
He said President Pervez Musharraf was trying to assure his foreign masters that he is the only person capable of controlling the extremist elements and that is why the military was carrying out operations in various parts of the country.
The SHCBA leader said the government was not sincere about resolving the Lal Masjid issue or else it would have been solved earlier.
‘Judicial crisis nearing resolution’
Karachi Bar Association President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, while addressing a general body meeting at the City Courts, also held the government responsible for the Lal Masjid epis-ode.
He said there are other important issues that need attention, mainly the judicial crisis and the floods in Balochistan.
About the judicial crisis he said a decision would soon be announced and it would hope-fully be in favour of the lawyers.
He announced that KBA members were collecting donations for the flood-affected people of Balochistan and Sindh and urged the people to contribute with an open heart.
The KBA leaders visited various courts and collected donations for the flood-hit people.
‘Cold response to floods’
Noted television artiste Ayub Khosa, who arrived here to collect funds for the flood-affected people, expressed grave concern over the pathetic situation in Balochistan and said the government had failed to fulfil its duties there.
He said the province was already facing a shortage of water and the wells that had been dug had been filled with mud due to the floods, leaving the people with no water to drink.
Expressing his annoyance over the cold response of the people to help the flood victims, Khosa asked the public to extend a helping hand just as they had done following the 2005 earthquake. He thanked the KBA for initiating the fund-raising campaign.
Conspiracy theory
Meanwhile, Malir Bar Association President Zahoor Hussain Memon told Dawn that the lawyers’ movement for the independence of the judiciary was in the final stages and would hopefully bear fruit.
He said the Lal Masjid issue was pre-planned, especially on the occasion of the All Parties Conference in London and the possible judgement in the reference against the chief justice.
He said such tactics would not make any difference and the lawyers’ movement would continue till the achievement of its goals.
Lawyers in the SHC, City Courts and Malir District Courts continued their token hunger strike against the suspension of the CJ.
