LAHORE, Jan 17: Reports regarding disconnection of water supply to the residence of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan have drawn a sharp reaction from lawyers, civil society representatives and students.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) member Hamid Khan and former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Ahmad Awais said the step had proved the government was still working on its agenda against judiciary. Discontinuing water supply to the residence was a denial of basic human right and contempt of court, they added.

In another statement, the Lawyers, Civil Society, and Students Action Committee (SAC) said the government had hurt their feelings by resorting to such a mean step.

“Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is still the chief justice of Pakistan and it is his right to stay in the residence reserved for the chief justice,” it added.

The SAC said the ‘unlawful rulers’ had no right over the resources of the state being managed by the money collected from people in the form of taxes. They condemned the statement of Attorney General of Pakistan that the deposed judges could no longer be considered the judges. —Reporter