LAHORE, Jan 13: Exorcising the spectre of the Thursday’s suicide attack, people from different walks of life held a protest demonstration in front of the residence of Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan.

The protesters gave a clarion call for the revival of the pre-emergency judiciary, and spent a minute in silence after offering fateha for the victims of the suicide hit.

The objective of the protest-cum-awareness campaign, launched almost a couple of months back by the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan (CCP), revolves around the importance of the independence of judiciary.

Acceding to the police’s request in view of the security situation, the CCP decided against marching up to The Mall in contrast to the past practice of leading rallies there.

The protesters after singing the national anthem emerged from in front of the Aitzaz’s Zaman Park residence, and occupied both sides of the canal road leading to Garhi Shahu. They held placards printed with the deposed chief justice’s picture and distributed pamphlets among passersby.

Scattered all over the place, the policemen watched the protesters chant slogans and paste stickers on windscreens of the cars passing along the canal road.

“What do you do when you see your house on fire?” said Sara Zaman, a representative of the Teachers Action Forum, when asked about the security threat. Some felt the gathering at the Zaman Park would ultimately lead to a broader movement with the passage of time.

“If you think all the people here are well-heeled, it may not be true. We have got lawyers, students and people from several classes. We have formed a coordination committee with a view to increasing the participation,” said Hina Azfar, associated with a research-based NGO —SIMORGH.

“I am here because I was offended by the government’s attempt to evict the chief justice of Pakistan,” said Students Action Committee (SAC) representative Sundus Hurain. She added the Islamabad chapter of the committee was all set to launch a campaign in the backdrop of the maltreatment of judges.

The protesters dispersed peacefully after an hour of protest.

Talking to Dawn, Bushra Aitzaz said the idea of national government could not be executed as long as Gen Musharraf (retired) and the army kept his unlawful hold on power. Then the national government could be formed with the agenda of restoring the deposed judges, stabilising the weakened institutions, appointing an independent election commission and finally holding free, fair and transparent elections, she said.

Earlier addressing the gathering, she said the government was still keeping some 50 judges and four lawyers, including her husband, confined unlawfully out of fear of a movement. She said the judges, who took oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), could never gain legitimacy.

The lawyers, who were still appearing before the judges, were cronies of the government and should be rejected socially, she said.

Asking the chief justice of Pakistan to leave his residence was an insult to the people of Pakistan, she added.

She said ‘the hammer group’ stalked people in Gen Zia’s regime and Musharraf has the credit of giving people suicide bombers.

Aitzaz’s son Ali Ahsan said the people of Pakistan - because of their struggle for their rights - have won a part of the ongoing movement, which earned them respect in and outside the country.

Ali said he neither considered the unlawfully confined judges nor the detained lawyers as prisoners because they had the support of their people and an impregnable thinking.

“The prisoner is the one who cannot get himself freed from the confines of the presidential palace and the chief of army staff’s residence.”

CCP representative Hamid Zaman said the gathering was a reassurance that the people, panicked over the suicide incident, would rise above all obstacles to usher in the change.