ISLAMABAD, Dec 7: Hundreds of students, lawyers, civil society members, political workers and ordinary citizens held a protest rally against the detention of superior couty judges and the leaders of the lawyers’ movement and sought their release.

The rally started from Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan’s residence here and culminated close to the Judges Colony. Protesters were carrying candles as a symbol of hope for the success of their struggle to bring dictatorship to an end.

The protesters raised slogans against military rule and the hypocrisy of political parties. The rally then marched slowly towards the Judges Colony, blocking the main road, where they were stopped by the police from heading towards the deposed chief justice’s residence.

Speaking on the occasion, lawyers’ leaders Sardar Asmatullah, Haroon Rashid and others said struggle for restoration of pre-November 3 judiciary would continue unabated regardless of whether the political parties boycott the elections or not.

They said their movement that started on March 9 was not just centring around the removal of Musharraf or the person of Iftikhar Chaudhry but was about changing the state itself and ensuring the supremacy of the legislate and judiciary over administrative institutions.

In particular this movement was about permanently ending the role of the military in politics.

Speaking on the occasion, Salman Haider of the Students Action Committee said the society could only be considered alive if its youth which constitute 50 per cent of the population, were involved in politics.

He said students of this country were slowly and surely recovering from long slumber. They would now continue their struggle until the establishment of genuine democracy, he added.

A reporter from Pindi adds: Lawyers on Friday demanded of the political parties to boycott the elections and join their struggle for the independence of judiciary and restoration of deposed judges.

At a general body meeting of Rawalpindi District Bar Association, they lamented the differences among major political parties over the issue of reinstatement of deposed judges and their decision to participate in the general elections.