RAWALPINDI, Feb 3: No new date by the government for the restoration of deposed judges can avert the planned long march by lawyers as the rulers have lost their credibility by backing off from their promises.

This was asserted by Hamid Ali Khan, member Pakistan Bar Council and former Supreme Court Bar Association president, while addressing the District Bar Association (DBA) here on Tuesday.

Mr Khan said the protesting lawyers would not tolerate any embargo such as red zones on their movement in Islamabad on March 9 when they would stage a sit-in on the Constitution Avenue till restoration of the deposed judiciary.

The leader of the lawyers’ fraternity opined that the rulers had started playing down their movement as something insignificant, but the lawyers would not sit idle till their demand were met. “Our two years old movement is about independence of judiciary, a cause that is very serious and important for the stability of the country, he said.

Asking the lawyers to ensure unity among their ranks, Mr Khan said they alone could not make their long march and subsequent sit-in successful and they needed to mobilise masses to participate in their march.

Appreciating the struggle of lawyers, he said it was the first homegrown movement that was only meant for the betterment of the country, as it aimed at independence of judiciary that was essential for democracy and rule of law. “As lawyers strive for the cause of common man, all likeminded segments of the society should be urged to join them in their protest against un-constitutionalism.”