ISLAMABAD Lawyers staged two-hoursit-ins across the country on Thursday, turning their guns on PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari for not honouring written agreementson the reinstatement of the deposed judges.

“Go Zardari Go”replaced the “Go Musharraf Go” slogan and a new one was coined toderide Mr. Zardari “Aik NRO Kay Sa`ey Talay Sab Chor Aik Hain,”(All thieves are united under the umbrella of NRO).

The most significant event of the sit-in in Islamabad, where a handful oflawyers blocked the Zero Point, was the tearing up and disfiguring ofa beaming visage of Asif Zardari.

The sit-in was the first major event of lawyers since the June 13 long march when thousandsof them had poured into Islamabad.

The long march was held on a joint call of the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association, but the “dharna” was announced by a breakaway groupNational Coordination Council, led by Aitzaz Ahsan.

The sit-ins were staged from 12 noon to 2 p.m. by all bar associations oninter-city highways and in the financial hubs of big cities.

In Islamabad, the traffic police had made elaborate arrangements to maintain the flow of traffic by diverting vehicles to lanes andby-lanes, but still long columns of vehicles were seen moving at asnail`s pace.

Led by Islamabad Bar Association PresidentHaroon Rashid, a few lawyers, some representatives of civil societyand members of the Tehrik-i-Insaf braved a hot and humid day,marching on the Zero Point. They chanted anti-Zardari andpro-Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry slogans.

Conspicuous by theirabsence were Pakistan Muslim League-N activists and leaders who werein the forefront of all such demonstrations in the past.

The demonstrators accused Mr. Zardari of dilly-delaying over the reinstatement of judges before the presidential election. They reminded the PPP leadership of the commitment made by Benazir Bhuttoto reinstate the deposed chief justice and hoist the national flag athis official residence.

In Rawalpindi, protesters, led by HighCourt Bar Association President Sardar Asmatullah Khan and DistrictBar Association President Sardar Tariq Masood, turned up at theKatcheri Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, Moti Mahal intersection, Airport Chowk, and Peshawar Road.

In Lahore, SCBA President Aitzaz Ahsan said if the government did not reinstate the judges to their pre-emergency position, the lawyers would launch yet another movement.

Lawyers also took out rallies and threw traffic on main arteries of cities and towns out of gear. In a speech at the Lahore High Court BarAssociation, Mr Ahsan said the lawyers carried an importantresponsibility to save the country as it was passing through the most critical phase of its history.

In Karachi, membersof political parties and civil society staged a sit-in at M.A. JinnahRoad.

A joint general body meeting of the Sindh High Court barand Karachi bar associations criticised the eight judges of the SindhHigh Court who had taken fresh oath and said it was a conspiracy todivide the legal fraternity.

In Khanewal, lawyers blocked themain GT Road. In Toba Tek Singh, an express train was alsohalted.

In Hyderabad and other towns across the interior of Sindh, lawyers boycotted courts and staged a sit-in.

Activists of civil society and political parties including Awami Tehrik, PML-N,Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, Sindh United Party, Sunni Tehrik and ShiaUlema Council also joined the protest.

In Quetta, lawyers staged a sit-in and boycotted court proceedings.

Activists and leaders of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, National Party, BalochistanNational Party (Mengal), Jamiat Ulema Islam, Tehrik-i-Insaf,Jamaat-i-Islami and members of civil society also joined the sit-inat Manan Chowk.