PESHAWAR, Sept 6: The lawyers’ community on Thursday urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf to quit both posts of the president and army chief and allow the Senate chairman to take over as acting president.

On the call of the Pakistan Bar Council, the lawyers boycotted courts and staged a protest demonstration.

They hoisted black flags on court buildings and took out a procession from the high court to the district courts.

The protesting lawyers raised slogans against Gen Musharraf and criticised the military’s involvement in politics.

A joint meeting of the Peshawar High Court and Peshawar District Bar Associations unanimously adopted a resolution demanding return of the exiled leaders to the country.

The lawyers vowed to resist Gen Musharraf’s move to get himself elected as president for the next term. They said that Musharraf was not qualified to contest the polls.

The members unanimously decided to fully support Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan for the post of president in the forthcoming elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The rival candidate, Barrister Zafarullah, who was on a visit to Peshawar, was not allowed to address the meeting.

Pakistan Bar Council executive committee chairman Qazi Mohammad Anwer said that the second phase of their movement was aimed at transfer of power to people.

He said that lawyers would not accept any deal between political parties and the army general.He said that lawyers were united in their struggle against Gen Musharraf from Karachi to Khyber.

Mr Anwer demanded that the army should go back to barracks and stop interfering in political issues.

He regretted that 300 soldiers, including colonels, majors and captains, had surrendered to militants in South Waziristan agency without firing a shot.

He questioned why the Pakistan Army had been fighting for the cause of other countries and killing its own people.

Lawyers’ leader Latif Afridi said that situation in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies and Swat district had been deteriorating and people had been holding the government responsible for the worsening law and order situation.

He appealed to civil society groups to support the lawyers’ movement.

He said the legal fraternity would not endorse any constitutional amendment aimed at curtailing independence of the judiciary and helping Musharraf in the presidential elections.