KARACHI, March 7: Lawyers across the province will observe an hour’s token strike against the Legal Framework Order on Saturday, the Sindh Bar Council announced here on Friday.

No court proceedings are to be conducted in the Sindh High Court on Saturday, but SBC vice-chairman Yasin Azad and members Mustafa Lakhani and Mohammed Sadiq said they would not allow even chamber proceedings, if any, from 11am to 12-noon tomorrow. The lawyers will wear black armbands and hold protest meetings.

They said the lawyers were particularly agitated against the LFO provisions diluting the norms of the parliamentary system of government and the three-year extension given to superior court judges. They said the judges should be administered oath under the original 1973 Constitution so that they laid down their robes on retirement under its provisions.

The SBC vice-chairman and members praised the role of the opposition in the National Assembly and urged the government to submit the LFO to the parliament as a constitutional amendment bill. They also called for an inquiry into police action against protesting lawyers in Lahore.