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KARACHI, July 5: Despite speculations regarding differences between the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) over the ongoing lawyers’ movement for the reinstatement of deposed judges and lack of momentum in the struggle after the long march ended on a bitter note, leaders of the legal fraternity in Karachi have vowed to continue the struggle till the restoration of the judiciary to its Nov-2 position and are quite optimistic that the movement will succeed.
They were of the view that though the 16-month-old movement had lost some momentum during the last month – due to the vacations of the Sindh High Court and lower courts – the struggle would resume from next Thursday as the lawyers are planning to hold rallies, sit-ins and also launch a “jail bharo tehrik.”
They said the lawyers of Karachi were ready for another long march, adding that a meeting of the PBC and SCBA, which would also be attended by representatives of all the bar associations of the country, would finalize a strategy in this regard.
President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association Rasheed A. Rizvi rejected speculations pertaining to the differences between the Pakistan Bar Council and SCBA. He said both bodies were working in coordination with each other and planning to make the movement more effective. Responding to a question regarding possible reservations of the PBC over the call for another long march as some of its members belong to the Pakistan People’s Party, he said the PBC would not have any reservations over the call for a second long march.
On vacation
“In fact,” he said, “the Pakistan Bar Council had given the call for the first long march, which was later fully endorsed by all the bar associations of the country. The movement could not gain any impetus after the long march because of the vacations of the Sindh High Court and subordinate courts. Otherwise, the lawyers are fully determined to continue the movement with the same enthusiasm till the reinstatement of the deposed judges.”
“The differences between the PBC and SCBA,” vice-chairman of the Sindh Bar Council Muzaffar Leghari said, “were only in the point of view as both bodies are in favour of continuing the struggle till the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary. However,” he added, “there could be some reservations over the call for another long march by the PBC since some of its members belong to the PPP.”
Replying to a question, he said that though the legal community was facing some financial problems due to the ongoing struggle, their morale was still high.
“The intervention of America in our internal issues is the main hurdle in the way of the reinstatement of deposed judges since America wants President Musharraf in power, while the president will certainly oppose any such move as he cannot survive alongside an independent judiciary. However, we will continue our struggle and are very optimistic about its success,” he added.
No strings attached
Commenting on the recently given grant of Rs50 million by the government to the PBC, Mr Leghari said that according to the Legal Practitioners Act, the government was bound to provide grants to bar associations, but added that the grant was totally unconditional and would not affect the lawyers’ ongoing struggle.
Justifying the lack of action after the long march, president of the Karachi Bar Association Mahmoodul Hasan said that most of the lawyers had gone to their native towns due to the vacations at the City Courts last month, which had disturbed the strength of lawyers.
“But now,” he said, “steps are being taken to gear up the movement more effectively from next Thursday, while an important meeting of the PBC, SCBA and representatives of all the bar associations across the country will be held on July 19 at Lahore to decide the future course of action. The legal fraternity,” he said, “was fully prepared and determined to continue the movement until all the deposed judges are reinstated.”
KBA general-secretary Naeem Qureshi said that in order to put the lawyers’ struggle back on track, the Karachi Bar would take out processions, stage sit-ins and also launch a “jail bharo tehrik” from July 10. He also reiterated that the legal fraternity of the city was ready for another long march.
President of the Malir Bar Association Amanullah Yousufzai said the lawyers were emotionally charged and determined to make their struggle a success since an independent judiciary was essential for a civilised society.
Expressing his party’s stance vis-à-vis the lawyers movement, Jamaat-i-Islami secretary-general Munawar Hassan said that one of the reasons behind the lack of momentum in the lawyers’ struggle was that the top leaderships of the legal fraternity was out of the country, adding that the lawyers’ leadership had also failed to take some important decisions during the long march that had disappointed the people.
He said mega-events like the long march must be well-planned and those political parties that were supporting and participating in the movement should be briefed about such programmes.
