KARACHI, Feb 20: Lawyers on Wednesday reminded political parties that they were returned by their constituents in the Feb 18 general election to help restore the judiciary to its Nov 2 position, and warned that if the judiciary was not restored, the legal fraternity would launch a countrywide movement against the new government and ruling parties.
The demand was made in a resolution moved by advocate Naheed Afzal at the general-body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association in the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall of the City Courts.
The lawyers vowed to continue the ongoing struggle till the reinstatement of judges, restoration of democracy, supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
Karachi Bar Association President Mahmoodul Hasan urged the upcoming government to pass a resolution in parliament for the removal of President Musharraf.
“The country witnessed a number of severe crises during his (Musharraf) dictatorial regime including the promulgation of the Provisional Constitution Order, military operations at Lal Masjid, in the tribal areas and Balochistan, where countless innocent people, including children and women, had been killed.”
The KBA chief further said people had elected representatives of those parties which had given assurance to the public about the reinstatement of the deposed judges and now it was time those parties fulfilled their promises.
He also demanded that the government immediately withdraw the detention orders of the deposed judges and lawyers. The legal fraternity would launch a nationwide movement after the March 8 deadline given by the Pakistan Bar Council if the deposed judges were not reinstated, he said and added that the ongoing struggle would continue and complete boycott of court proceedings would be observed every Thursday while one-hour boycott and hunger strikes would be carried out on a daily basis in accordance with the PCB directions.
KBA secretary-general Naeem Qureshi praised Munir A. Malik and Aitzaz Ahsan for their untiring contributions to the lawyers’ ongoing struggle. He also announced that lawyers would take out a rally from the KBA office after the general-body meeting and would stage a sit-in on M. A. Jinnah Road on Thursday.
Expressing his satisfaction over the Feb18 poll results, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Munir A. Malik said that it was imperative for all political parties to recognize that a judiciary which inspired the confidence of the people was the backbone of any democratic transition.
In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he termed the election results a win-win situation for the pro-democracy forces and that people had provided an opportunity to parliament to restore all deposed judges of the Supreme and high courts to build all civil institutions so they could function in an independent manner.
He urged members of all bar associations to remain active and support the democratic process.
He demanded the immediate release of the deposed chief justice, his family members, Aitzaz Ahsan, retired Justice Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd. He said the legal fraternity paid tribute to the sacrifices made by lawyers who had suffered, particularly the three leaders who have been in confinement for over three months.
