LAHORE, May 1 The National Coordination Council (NCC) of lawyers will observe May 12 as a 'black day' in memory of dozens of lawyers and citizens killed in Karachi on that day in 2007. The day will be observed by a complete boycott of courts.

Following a meeting, SCBA secretary Shaukat Umar Pirzada told reporters that the NCC, under its leaders Supreme Court Bar Association President Ali Ahmad Kurd and council chairman Aitzaz Ahsan, passed a resolution demanding the trial of Gen Pervez Musharraf (retired) under Article-6 for subverting the Constitution, the removal of judges who took oath under the November 2007 Provisional Constitutional Order, and the removal of Justice M. Bilal Khan for his alleged links with the underworld.

The council observed that judges who took oath under the unconstitutional PCO of Pervez Musharraf on Nov 3, 2007, violated the Constitution and the order of injunction dated Nov 3, 2007, passed by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the chief justice of Pakistan.

It further observed that appointments of persons under the PCO as judges of the superior courts with the consultation of Abdul Hameed Dogar were unconstitutional and invalid.

The resolution passed by the NCC also said that Abdul Hameed Dogar was neither a valid chief justice of Pakistan nor was he so recognized by lawyers and the people of Pakistan.

The council strongly condemned the military action and killings of Baloch leaders and fully supported the aspirations of the people of Balochistan for provincial autonomy under the Constitution.

The NCC demanded that all those responsible for the murder of Baloch leaders be immediately apprehended, tried and punished for their crime.

The council called upon Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to withdraw the judicial powers of Justice Bilal and to ask the Supreme Judicial Council to act expeditiously in accordance with law so that the superior judiciary could be purged of black sheep.

Adopting resolution against Pervez Musharraf, the council held that Musharraf be tried for high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution while being given a full and fair opportunity to defend himself. Ali Ahmad Kurd announced that the NCC would meet at least once in two months and the secretary shall make arrangements for holding such meetings on a regular basis.

He said the meeting also discussed imposition of Nizam-i-Adl in the Malakand division and council members from the NWFP and Balochistan supported its imposition. However, Kurd said the council did not give its final opinion over the said issue and deferred the matter till its next meeting.

NCC chairman Aitzaz Ahsan expressed his deep concern over the recent unrest in Karachi and Balochistan and asked the government to settle down the situation amicably. He said that PCO judges would be ousted from the judiciary in the same manner the chief justice was restored.—Staff Reporter