Pakistani lawyers decide to keep intact campaign momentum

Lawyers from all over Punjab have resolved not to ease momentum of their movement against Gen. Pervez Musharraf or allow black sheep in their ranks to divert its path.
At a convention here, the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) announced a full-day strike every Thursday as part of their protest against the ‘unconstitutional suspension’ of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, besides staging protest rallies, holding meetings and setting up hunger strike camps throughout the province.
The participants also enhanced the duration of the daily strike by lawyers from one to three hours during which time they would stage protests at their respective bars. The convention announced a strike and boycott of courts on April 3 when lawyers from all over the province will gather in Islamabad on the occasion of the hearing in the reference against the chief justice.
Bar Associations across the province were authorised to formulate their own protest schedules and programmes. It also said the lawyers' movement will remain unflinching till such time their goal has been achieved and lawyers will gather in Karachi if the venue for their assembly is shifted there.
The convention was attended by all the 113 bar associations, including representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association and High Court Bar Association who demanded immediate ouster of Gen. Pervez Musharraf and reconstitution of the Supreme Judicial Council and demanded an open court trial of Justice Chaudhry.
The convention has demanded prosecution of Gen. Pervez Musharraf under Article 6, (high treason) for unconstitutionally holding office of president while in uniform of an army general and that a national government should be formed and elections held under an independent election commissioner.
The lawyers called for the removal of chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh for torturing lawyers and keeping Justice Chaudhry in detention allegedly for six hours to force him to resign.Paying glowing tribute to the boldness and courage of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the convention saluted judges and law officers who resigned to protest the reference. The convention also adopted a resolution demanding resignation of Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani for ‘lying to the nation’. The resolution flayed Law Minister Wasi Zafar, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Arif Chaudhry and Raja Abdul Rahman for supporting what they said, illegal and unconstitutional acts of President Musharraf.
Courtesy: KT