PESHAWAR, May 8: Lawyers here on Tuesday celebrated the staying of the Supreme Judicial Council’s proceedings by a Supreme Court bench and vowed to continue their struggle until the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

They distributed sweets and greeted each other. Qazi Muhammad Anwer, one of the counsel of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and other senior lawyers were the focus of attention.

A general body meeting of the Peshawar High Court and Peshawar District bar associations was also held under the chairmanship of the PHCBA president, Abdul Lateef Afridi. The meeting decided to observe a ‘thanksgiving day’ on Wednesday, saying the Supreme Court’s order was the first step towards the final victory of the legal community.

The meeting hailed the Supreme Court’s order through which the Supreme Judicial Council’s proceedings were stayed.

The lawyers vowed to continue to stick to the stand adopted by the associations in accordance with the Pakistan Bar Council’s decisions.

They condemned the anonymous advertisement campaign launched against the chief justice and said the government was behind the negative campaign, adding that newspapers had been used in that campaign.

Lawyers praised the media’s role in the ongoing crisis and said that it had exposed the government’s wrongdoing.

They also discussed the issue of a lawyer affiliated with the ruling PML, Moazam Butt, who wanted the restoration of his membership.

The meeting said that the person in question should first tender an apology to the Pakistan Bar Council and the NWFP Bar Council, adding that he should also withdraw a high court petition seeking his membership’s restoration and challenging the suspension of his licence.

Our Mardan Correspondent adds: Awami National Party leader Azam Khan Hoti has lauded the role of lawyers and the Chief Justice of Pakistan for their struggle to put the country back on the right track.

Addressing members of the Mardan Bar Association, he said that in the past the judiciary took its strength from the executive but today it was taking strength from the people and that was a good omen for the country.

He bitterly criticised policies of President Gen Pervez Musharraf, especially Pakistan’s role in the war on terror, and said Gen Musharraf’s policies had turned the entire tribal belt and settled areas into a war zone.

He also criticised the role of the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan and said these forces would never leave Afghanistan because they had landed there to gain control on oil and gas deposits of Central Asian states.

He said all institutions of the country had lost their utility and only one institution – the armed forces -- had the key role in all matters of the country as was evident from the fact that 1327 posts of Grade 22 officers had been occupied by members of armed forces out of a total of 1456 posts.

Mr Hoti said in order to pull the country out of the present imbroglio, all political parties would have to join hands.