KARACHI, Aug 21: Representatives of the legal fraternity urged on Thursday the PPP-led government not to give indemnity to Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and instead charge him and his associates under Article 6 of the Constitution as, they alleged, he had taken many unconstitutional and illegal measures during his nine-year dictatorial rule.

They said the former president had abrogated the Constitution twice, derailed the judiciary, dissolved the elected government of Nawaz Sharif, put curbs on the media and launched military operations in Balochistan, the tribal areas and against the Lal Masjid, killing countless innocent people, including women and children. Those groups or people who had assisted or indemnified Musharraf’s illegal and unconstitutional steps were equally responsible for it and must be brought to justice, they added.

The lawyers further said that certain elements in the coalition government were not sincere in reinstatement of the judges and using different tactics to delay the restoration of the Nov 2 judiciary. They warned that the lawyers would launch a massive struggle against the government if the judges were not reinstated.

The lawyers lauded the PML-N’s stance on the judges’ issue, but advised Nawaz Sharif to quit the government and join hands with the lawyers on the APDM platform as, they said, his coalition partners were deceiving him.

Speaking at a joint general body meeting of the Sindh high court and Karachi bar associations held in the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall of the City Courts, they said the minus-one formula was not acceptable to the legal fraternity. They vowed to continue their struggle till the reinstatement of all judges, including Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

President of the Karachi Bar Association Mahmoodul Hasan stated that they had given time to the new government for the reinstatement of the judges as the legal fraternity was against military intervention in politics, but it was highly deplorable that the leaders of the four ruling coalition partners had signed the Islamabad Declaration on Aug 7, and announced that they would reinstate all judges to their pre-PCO positions within three days of the departure of Pervez Musharraf, but again failed to honour their commitment.

He said the legal community was fully capable of launching a massive struggle against the government, adding that the lawyers had defeated Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf who was more powerful than the present rulers. He urged the PML-N to quit the government as there were few chances of reinstatement of the judges by the PPP-led government.

“The lawyers had launched a struggle after March 9, 2007 against the then army chief and president that eventually forced him to quit both posts and those politicians opposing the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary would also suffer the same fate if they continued to hinder the judges’ reinstatement.”

President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association Rasheed A. Razvi said it was the lawyers’ movement that had forced Pervez Musharraf to resign, and demanded that he and those who had assisted him in his illegal acts be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution in order to discourage future military adventures.

Referring to some media reports, he warned the government not to indemnify the unconstitutional steps of Pervez Musharraf, adding that any move to give him indemnity would be resisted. Successive governments and the judiciary had indemnified the measures of all dictators in the past and that had encouraged Mr Musharraf to derail the judiciary on Nov 3, 2007, he added.

A provincial leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Saleem Zia, termed the next 12 to 15 hours crucial and said his party would quit the government if the judges were not reinstated. He stated that the PML-N would reject any indemnity move and demanded that the name of Prevez Musharraf be put on the exit control list and he be charged under Article 6 for taking numerous unconstitutional steps during his dictatorship. He assured the lawyers that the PML-N would not compromise on the restoration of the pre-Nov 3 judiciary.

KBA general secretary Naeem Qureshi said there was no justification in further delaying reinstatement of the judges, adding that the government had backtracked a number of times on its commitments in this regard. He warned that the legal fraternity would boycott legal proceedings and stage sit-ins from Saturday if the judges were not reinstated.

Jamaat-i-Islami leader Mohammad Hussain Mehnati, Shahid Ghouri of the Sunni Tahrik, Siddique Rathore of the JUP, member of the Pakistan Bar Council Yasin Azad, member of the Sindh Bar Counicl Salahuddin Gandapur, Naheed Afzal and Khalid Mumtaz also spoke at the meeting.

Lawyers, political workers and activists of non-governmental organisations took out a procession from the Karachi Bar Association’s office after attending the general body meeting. Marching on different thoroughfares of the city, including M.A. Jinnah Road, they reached the Karachi Press Club, where the rally was addressed by various leaders of the legal fraternity.

The participants of the rally, surrounded by police mobiles, carried placards, banners and flags and chanted anti-Musharraf and pro-Justice Iftikhar slogans.

Meanwhile, the lawyers boycotted legal proceedings at the City Courts and District Courts of Malir on a call by the Pakistan Bar Council against the removal of the judges. Under-trial prisoners were brought to the police lockup in the City Courts from different prisons, but their cases could not be heard due to the lawyers’ strike and they were driven back to their respective prisons. However, the judges remained in their respective chambers.

The president of the Malir Bar Association, Amanullah Yousufzai, told Dawn that the lawyers observed a complete strike at the District Courts of Malir on Thursday, and a general body meeting was also held at the MBA office.