KARACHI, Jan 27: Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed has emphasised the need for launching a massive socio-political struggle to achieve the objectives of democracy, good governance and a genuine judiciary.

Praising the ongoing struggle by lawyers for the independence of the judiciary, rule of law, supremacy of constitution and restoration of democracy, he urged all segments of society to play their due role in making the movement a success as such objectives could not be achieved without the active participation of civil society.

He was addressing the social movement assembly held at the Arts Council here on Saturday on the theme: “Act together to change the world”.

Pointing out that the country has seen several martial laws in its history, he remarked that the last “two coups” were staged by Gen Pervez Musharraf who, he deplored, had resorted to taking extreme actions to prolong his rule. However, he added, the general would not be able to see his dreams come true.

He described the recent presidential election as “a fraud”, arguing that Gen Musharraf had to impose emergency and introduce the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) to get his election validated through the judiciary. He recalled that PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in his interview with a foreign TV had stated that the Supreme Court bench hearing a petition against Gen Musharraf’s eligibility to contest the election was to give its verdict against the general and the he had no choice but to introduce the PCO to prevent the judiciary from delivering the verdict.

“Our struggle is not aimed against an individual,” he said, adding: “We are against military interventions… the armed forces must go back to their barracks.”

Speaking on the occasion, President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association Rasheed A. Razvi highlighted the role of lawyers in ensuring supremacy of the constitution and rule of law. He pointed out that the legal fraternity had always raised its voice and launched movements against dictators and violations of constitution. The ongoing movement, he said, was aimed at ensuring the restoration of genuine and independent judiciary and democracy.

Referring to the fallout of repeated military interventions and continued interference in the country’s political affairs, he pointed out that serving and retired military officers were setting in almost every civilian institution and department. “It’s deplorable that every member of a cabinet in military or civilian rule has to be approved by the country’s intelligence agencies.”

Endorsing Justice Wajihu-ddin’s call for involving civil society in a socio-political movement, Mr Razvi invited the civil society to take part in the events organised by the legal fraternity for Jan 31, which was being observed as ‘Yaum-i-Iftikhar’.

The social movement assembly issued a declaration which called for restoration of the judiciary to its pre-Nov 3 position; immediate removal of Gen Pervez Musharraf and the caretaker government; formation of an independent election commission to ensure holding of Feb 18 election in a free, fair and transparent manner; withdrawal of armed forces to their barracks; and removal of Rangers officials from all civilian institutions.