HYDERABAD, April 10: Lawyer leaders stressed on Thursday as they boycotted courts across the province that they believed conspiracies like Wednesday’s killings in Karachi were aimed at sabotaging their movement for the reinstatement of judges.

They had stayed away from courts according to their weekly boycott of courts and Wednesday’s killings in Karachi. They held rallies and general body meetings in District bar Association rooms to condemn violence against lawyers.

In Hyderabad, the lawyers, shouting slogans of “Go Musharraf Go”, “Qatilon jawab do, khoon ka hisab do”, staged a sit-in on Fatima Jinnah road for half an hour and held a general body meeting at Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry hall.

The Hyderabad District Bar Association (HDBA) office-bearers and president Chaudhry Bashir Gujjar condemned use of violence against lawyers in Karachi on Wednesday.

Mr Gujjar said that it was height of tyranny that innocent people were being burnt alive in Karachi. The people who were behind conspiracies did not want supremacy of law and justice and wanted to force 160 million people to run from pillar to post to get justice.

HDBA General Secretary Nisar Durrani said that lawyers would foil all the conspiracies through collective fight and would also accelerate pace of their movement to ensure that the chief justice (deposed) and other judges resumed work in their offices.He demanded that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and federal interior adviser Rehman Malik should ensure arrests of the people involved in Wednesday’s killings.

He said that if the accused were not brought to justice then people would get disappointed in the government and the government’s writ would be challenged.

In Nawabshah, DBA members condemned attack on and killings of lawyers at a general body meeting chaired by Ali Mohammad Dahiri, president DBA. The meeting also condemned remarks by MQM’s Anees Ahmed advocate against the lawyers’ movement.

In Sanghar, lawyers boycotted courts, wore black armbands and hoisted black flags atop the DBA offices. DBA President Anwar Mehmood Nizamani said that the Karachi killings were an attempt to sabotage the democratic process.

In Shikarpur and Mirpurkhas lawyers observed complete boycott of courts, wore black armbands and hoisted black flags and banners atop bar offices.

Later, a meeting condemned burning down of lawyers’ offices and bar rooms in Karachi and termed it a bid to sabotage the movement.

In Jacobabad, Kandhkot and Sukkur lawyers boycotted courts, held general body meetings and staged rallies in protest against the Wednesday’s Karachi killings.

The lawyers in Sukkur led by HDBA and DBA leaders took the streets and marched on main roads before reaching the Minara Road, where they staged a demonstration.

They condemned the killings and damage to public and private property in Karachi and demanded that Sindh Government should nab the actual culprits behind the heinous act and award them exemplary punishment.