LAHORE, April 25: The Lahore High Court Bar Association terminated the membership of federal and provincial law ministers, Dr Khalid Ranjha and Rana Ijaz Ahmad Khan, at a general body meeting held on Thursday morning to mark the lawyers’ protest day here.

The striking lawyers appeared in courts and sought adjournment of their cases, which was generally granted.

Many of the urgent cases were heard by single judges before tea-break. Fewer matters, however, proceeded in the division benches after the break.

Justices Karamat Nazir Bhandari, Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad and Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry heard foreign banks’ petition against the FIA in the afternoon after disposing of their single and division bench cases.

Quite a few matters also proceeded in civil and sessions courts.

The Lahore Bar Association did not bring out a procession but a number of its members joined the LHCBA protest.

About 50 lawyers holding placards and raising slogans against Gen Pervez Musharraf, military rule, referendum and the new LHC benches peacefully marched from the LHC building to the Regal Chowk. They were surrounded by police all the way.

The processionists included Pakistan Bar Council Vice-Chairman Chaudhry Ashraf Wahla, Supreme Court Bar Association President Hamid Khan, Punjab Bar Council Vice-Chairman Ramzan Chaudhry and LHCBA President Chaudhry Muzammil Khan and other office-bearers and council members.

Pakistan Bar Council member Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari and Punjab Bar Council member Hakam Qureshi were the most vociferous of the demonstrators. Earlier, at the general body meeting speakers declared that all government attempts to subdue or divide lawyers were doomed to fail. They said time has come for people and political parties to adopt a long-term strategy to put an end to military interventions.

Human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir, Pakistan Bar Council members Raja Mahmood Akhtar, Malik Saeed Hasan and LHCBA Secretary Shahid Mahmood Bhatti were among the speakers.

Chaudhry Muzammil told the lawyers that he had spurned offers to become advocate-general, law minister or an LHC judge.

The meeting passed a resolution to oust the two law ministers, both senior advocates of the Supreme Court, from the LHCBA.