LAHORE, March 25: Representatives of three bars, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, have demanded of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to restore all the deposed judges in line with the mandate of the ballot and the Murree Declaration.

The demand came in a resolution unanimously carried in a joint session of the SCBA, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA).

The meeting was held as the lawyers felt they needed to make themselves clear on the issue of the deposed judges after the prime minister ordered their release in his first speech right after his election.

The resolution placed by LHCBA secretary Rana Asadullah also demanded of the PM to ensure supremacy of the Constitution, independence of the judiciary and the media. Through the resolution the lawyers also called for an early release of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.

The resolution said the Constitution be restored to the status it had before Oct 12, 1999, when Pervez Musharraf had overthrown the Nawaz government. The meeting appreciated Yusuf Raza Gilani for issuing release orders of the detained judges and said their weekly protest rallies would continue till restoration of all the deposed judges.

LHCBA president Anwar Kamal condemned Musharraf and his aides for saying time and again that no judge was under detention. He said the premier's order for the release of the judges proved that the government had been telling a lie all along.

He said as the deposed judges were still the constitutional judges but they would not attend courts until the 30-day deadline to the parliament for their restoration lapsed.

He asked the parliament not to wait for an end to the deadline, but restore them as soon as possible.

SCBA vice-president Ghulam Nabi Bhatti said lawyers protest would continue till restoration of all the deposed judges. He condemned the government for keeping the deposed judges detained for more than four months.

LHCBA former vice president Firdous Butt, ex-president Ahmed Awais and son-in-law of deposed judge Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, Advocate Azhar Hameed, also addressed the session.