LAHORE, May 2: Lawyers having affiliation with both the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government and Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry-led judiciary have stepped up their campaign to support their leaders after the conviction of country’s chief executive on contempt of court charges. The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) in its general house meeting on Wednesday adopted a resolution that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani leave his office in 15 days or they will launch a movement against the government.

Addressing the meeting, LBA President Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said the lawyers would not hesitate from rendering any sacrifice for the supremacy of the law and implementation of the Supreme Court orders.

When the LBA was supporting the judiciary, several activists of the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) were holding a demonstration at GPO Chowk in support of Gilani.

They criticised his conviction and chanted slogans in his favour. They also burnt the copies of SC decision.

Many deputy attorneys general, including Naseem Kashmiri, Shaista Qaiser and Amir Jalil Siddiqui, participated in the protest. PLF members also pledged to strive for the supremacy of the law and parliament. They vowed to honour Supreme Court decisions but, they said, extra constitutional decisions would not be accepted.

They appreciated Gilani for not compromising on the supremacy of the Constitution. They said they were with the prime minister who restored the Constitution and reinstated the judiciary.

The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after an hour.