ISLAMABAD, June 14: The lawyers’ long march ended on a bitter note after a group of lawyers and political activists insisted on staging a sit-in outside the Parliament House and accused Aitzaz Ahsan of striking a ‘deal’ with the government.

About 50 agitated protesters tried to scale the ship containers set up at the D-Chowk and enter the protected area where the Parliament House, President House and Supreme Court are located.

They removed barbed wires and beat up some security personnel. They said they had been promised that their protest would continue until their demands were met.

Aitzaz Ahsan, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), delivered an emotional speech and said that those who were accusing him of striking a deal should realise that he had once turned down an offer of premiership made by the president.

“The president told me that he could ask the then prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, to step down ‘in 15 minutes’, but first I had to stop supporting the deposed chief justice.”

Mr Ahsan said he had sacrificed a lot for the cause and refused to become a joint PPP-PML-N candidate for two National Assembly seats. “I can assure you that I or my colleagues cannot compromise on the issue of the judiciary,” he told the people who wanted to proceed towards the Parliament House.

Persuading them to disperse peacefully, he said: “One thing which I did not want to say before the full glare of the media is that if we go ahead and stage the sit-in, this huge gathering will dwindle to just 2,000 and the impact of this show of strength will be spoilt.

“We will not relent on the issue until independent judges are reinstated,” he said.

Urging the people to go home, Mr Aitzaz said: “We will fight the war at the right time and at the right place.”

Earlier during the rally, lawyers, representatives of civil society and politicians called for President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation and the reinstatement of deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, ‘with honour and dignity’.

Participants of the largest demonstration in Islamabad yet criticised the role of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), especially Asif Ali Zardari, and accused it of delaying the restoration of the judiciary.

They said the time had come for President Musharraf’s impeachment, adding that he should be held accountable for his nine-year-long ‘misrule’.

“President Musharraf will not be given safe passage. He will be impeached and held accountable for his deeds,” chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Nawaz Sharif said.

“The president must be held accountable for the killing of innocent children in the Jamia Hafsa and the Lal Masjid, unprecedented price hikes, shortage of flour, the killing of 50 people in Karachi on May 12 last year, military operations in Balochistan and tribal areas and the virtual collapse of the economy,” Mr Sharif said.

The lawyers’ long march turned into a public meeting in Islamabad and was attended by representatives of civil society, ex-servicemen, workers of the PPP, PML-N, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, the Khaksar Tehrik, doctors, former diplomats, Madressah students, traders and businessmen and remained at the parade venue for more than 14 hours – from 3pm on Friday to 5am Saturday.

The PML-N chief, who joined the gathering at 3am, urged participants to keep up the pressure. “I can see the country’s destiny changing because of your tremendous resolve.”

Mr Sharif said that he could not understand why the PPP co-chairman was reluctant to honour the Murree Declaration. “Although I am a coalition partner, I will always support the lawyers’ demand … for restoring the pre-Nov 3, 2007, judiciary.”

However, he urged the protesters to avoid staging a sit-in because they had recorded their protest and given a stern message to the circles concerned. “This was the first step. My party is with you. We will come again … but before staging the sit-in (in front of the Parliament House), all stakeholders must agree, otherwise we will leave,” Mr Sharif said.

A timely interference by some lawyers stopped a group of young protestors from proceeding farther into the Red Zone, otherwise an uncontrollable law and order situation could have arisen.

The programme ended at 5am and people dispersed except for some youths who kept their vigil till 3pm on Saturday.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik, along with senior security officials, visited the venue and expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conclusion of the protest. Terming the lawyers’ protest a success, the adviser estimated that about 20,000 people had attended the event.

PTI chief Imran Khan and JI Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.