KARACHI, Oct 30: Leaders and members of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) on Thursday observed the weekly boycott of courts proceedings in line with the Pakistan Bar Council’s call for protest against removal of the chief justice of Pakistan and many other judges by former president Pervez Musharraf on Nov 3, 2007.

Lawyers at the Malir District Courts also observed a boycott of court proceedings.

Under-trial prisoners were brought to the City Courts’ lockup from different prisons but their cases could not proceed due to the boycott although judges were present in their respective chambers.Speaking at a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar at the City Courts, KBA leaders accused the former president of abrogating the Constitution twice, derailing the judiciary, lunching military operations in Balochistan and tribal areas and invading the Lal Masjid to eliminate many innocent people. They called for prosecuting the former president under Article 6 of the Constitution.

They also slammed the PPP-led coalition government for not reinstating Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as the chief justice of the Supreme Court and, instead, advising him to join politics. They described the offer as absurd, reminding the PPP that it had signed several agreements and declarations promising to restore the Nov 3 judiciary and reinstatement of all deposed judges. They urged the rulers to fulfil their commitments.

Terming the victory of Ali Ahmed Kurd in the Supreme Court Bar Association poll “the victory of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry”, they said it would give new impetus to the lawyers’ ongoing struggle.

The lawyers said their struggle was for the survival of the country, and resolved to continue the movement till the reinstatement of all deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

The newly-elected SCBA vice-president from Sindh, Sohail Hayat Rana, urged the federal law minister and the attorney general to step down, arguing that the lawyers fraternity had rejected their candidate in the elections. He also moved a resolution calling on the prime minister to issue a notification to restore the pre-Nov 3 judiciary.

He assured the lawyers fraternity that the newly-elected SCBA leadership would never compromise on its stance on the reinstatement of all deposed judges.

KBA president Mahmoodul Hasan stressed that Pervez Musharraf must be put to trial under Article 6 of the Constitution for he had taken many unconstitutional and illegal steps during his dictatorial rule. His trial was necessary to discourage military adventures in the future, he added.

He also criticised those judges who accepted the government’s reinstatement offer and took a fresh oath, and argued that they should now reopen the May 12 mayhem case if their act was really aimed at ensuring survival of the institution and dispensation of justice.

KBA general-secretary Naeem Qureshi, Sindh Bar Council member Salahuddin Gandapur and Naheed Afzal flayed the government for perusing Pervez Musharraf’s policies. They recalled that political parties did not have courage to raise their voice against the dictator during his tenure, and claimed that it was the lawyers’ movement that force him to quit.

Later, the lawyers took out a rally and staged a sit-in on M. A. Jinnah Road. They raised slogans against the government and the president.