GUJRANWALA, Sept 6: On the call of the Supreme Court Bar Association, lawyers on Thursday displayed unity in several parts of Punjab by staying away from courts and lashing out at the Musharraf government. Bahawalpur, however, proved an exception as lawyers there rapped the call for strike more than the purpose for which it was announced.

In Gujranwala, the lawyers converged at the district bar association and gave vent to their disquiet against the government and its “flawed policies and undemocratic steps”. They adopted a resolution demanding that all activists of the PML-N who had been arrested to bar them from receiving their leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif should be released immediately.

The lawyers, who had worn black armbands, also demanded that Musharraf should quit.

As the proceedings of a number of cases could not be held, those involved in litigation faced a great deal of inconvenience.

BAHAWALPUR: The general body meeting of the high court bar association’s Bahawalpur bench echoed with divergent views on the strike with some of the lawyers raising questions about its timing.

According to the bar president, some members were of the view that the outcome of the petitions pending with the Supreme Court should have been awaited.

Advocate Akhtar Chishti, while protesting over the strike, blasted that “the lawyers had been involved in strikes for the past several months despite facing financial straits”.

Malik Saeed Ijaz described the strike as a flop show. Members of the district and high court bar associations did not wear black armbands.

KASUR: Hundreds of lawyers boycotted courts, threw traffic out of gear on Ferozepur Road and chanted slogans against the government.

Lawyers in Chunian and Pattoki also observed strike against the president in uniform.

Rallies were taken out in various parts of Kasur and the lawyers ripped to shreds the president.

VEHARI: Rallies and condemnation of the government marked the lawyers’ protest day in Vehari, Burewala, Mailsi and towns nearby.

“Go Musharraf Go” was the motto of the protesting lawyers who came out with zeal and moved from place to place to put their message across.

They vowed to continue the ‘struggle’ till the ouster of the president.

Similar protest rallies and sloganeering were held in other parts of the province, including Toba Tek Singh, Mandi Bahauddin, Faisalabad and Multan.