LAHORE, Dec 15: Nomination papers of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan were withdrawn by his wife on Saturday in a move set to add more weight to the call to boycott elections.

“(Barrister) Aitzaz always preferred a collective cause over personal benefits,” said Bushra Aitzaz. “He does not want to leave the judiciary high and dry,” she added.

Barrister Aitzaz had filed papers for NA-124 in Lahore.

Mrs Aitzaz had gone to Aiwan-i-Adl along with other family members for the papers’ withdrawal because Barrister Aitzaz remained confined in his home, which had been declared a sub-jail. Hundreds of lawyers and members of civil society had gathered to express solidarity with Barrister Aitzaz.

Former vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council Mir Ali Ahmed Kurd also withdrew his papers in Quetta. He also withdrew papers from two Rawalpindi constituencies, NA-55 and NA-56.

Six other lawyers also withdrew papers in Rawalpindi. They are Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Chaudhry Wasif Ali, Chaudhry Kamran and Arif Bhatti, Saira Khatoon and Asad Abbasi. Makhdoom Javaid Hashmi of the PML-N also withdrew his nominations in favour of Hanif Abbasi.

Addressing the gathering at the Aiwan-i-Adl, Mrs Aitzaz said President Musharraf had “retained the office of the president through an illegal and unconstitutional measure. We will have to show him the way out”.

Later, lawyers and members of the civil society took out a procession chanted slogans against the army, the chief justice of the Lahore High Court and withdrew the papers.

Lawyers who withdrew nomination papers in Lahore included Mohammad Azhar, Mohammad Ramzan Chaudhry, Ziaullah Khan, Mohammad Qaisar Amin, Rafaqat Dogar, Mohammad Amin Javed and Chaudhry Mohammad Ismail.