RAWALPINDI, March 10: The lawyers community in Rawalpindi, Attock, Taxila and Gujar Khan on Saturday widely condemned suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and filing of reference against him.
They described the president’s action unconstitutional and aimed at usurpation of the judiciary’s independence.
In their emergency meetings, the lawyers announced that protest rallies would be held against the decision of the president.
The members of the Rawalpindi District Bar Association in a meeting criticised Advocate Naeem Bokhari for writing an open letter against the chief justice and termed it a conspiracy against the judiciary.
The meeting decided to submit a petition in the Supreme Court in consultation with the Pakistan Bar Council against the move of the president.
Later, the lawyers gathered outside the district courts premises and in protest blocked the G.T. Road for more than an hour.
Speakers on the occasion alleged that the suspension of the country’s top adjudicator was a move to pave the way for rigging the forthcoming general elections.
They asked the government to restore the chief justice and allow him to carry out his duties independently.
The protesting lawyers alleged that references against some of the judges who would conduct the hearing against Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in the Supreme Judicial Council were pending with President Musharraf. “This speaks volumes about the designs of the government,” they added.
ATTOCK: The District Bar Association of Attock announced a two-day strike-cum-protest from Monday against the suspension of the CJP, reports our correspondent from Attock.
President of the DBA Rana Afsar Ali Khan while talking to local reporters said a meeting of the lawyers on Saturday had decided to stage a protest rally on Monday morning at Fowarah Chowk to condemn the presidential action.
He termed the president’s action a blow to the whole system and a disgrace to the judiciary. He said it was a calculated move to gag the higher judiciary which needed a unified stand of the legal fraternity.
TAXILA: The lawyers community of Taxila and Wah Cantonment boycotted court proceedings against the removal of the CJP, writes our correspondent from Taxila.
The lawyers also took out a protest rally from the tehsil court complex which marched on Faisal Shaheed road and turned into a big gathering at main Taxila chowk.
Addressing the lawyers, Muneer Khan, Sheikh Yaqoob, Malik Ejaz and other lawyers termed March 9 a “black day” in the judicial history of the country. They said the removal of the chief justice would be disastrous for the judiciary in the country.
GUJAR KHAN: Tahir Raheel Awan, a member of the Gujar Khan Bar Association, has condemned the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan and said such tactics were aimed at weakening the judiciary.
In a press release, Mr Awan said Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had activated the judiciary for the provision of speedy justice to the common man and his judgment in Pakistan Steel Mills case was remarkable as it exposed corruption at the highest level.
DHR: The Defence of Human Rights has also condemned the sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and described the move as the worst form of “injustice” ever unleashed against the judiciary in Pakistan.
In a statement, Mrs Masood Janjua of the DHR’s women’s wing said the families of missing people had a ray of hope in Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry who had taken suo motu notice for the release of the enforced disappeared persons.
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