GUJRAT, Nov 8: Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the man who has been shepherding the lawyers’ movement for what they call an independent judiciary, said on Saturday the black coats had taken up the responsibility to fight for the rule of law after Nov 3 last – a step no one had taken in the ‘last six decades’.

Addressing the lawyers at the Gujrat Bar Association, one of his stopovers on way to Sialkot, he said the Objectives Resolution stressed independence of judiciary and so does the Constitution, so the judges, lawyers and the government should not compromise on it.

In the last two months, he said, the lawyers’ movement had gained momentum which had instilled a new spirit among the lawyers across the globe.

Earlier, the deposed chief justice was accorded a rousing welcome by the lawyers, political activists and members of civil society as the entourage entered the district (near Jhelum bridge). PML-N MNA Malik Jamil Awan, district president Malik Hanif Awan, Jamaat-i-Islami district amir Dr Tariq Salim, lawyers from Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin accorded the welcome.