KARACHI, Nov 5: The city’s legal fraternity on Wednesday boycotted legal proceedings and took out a procession from the Sindh High Court Bar Association premises to the Karachi Press Club after a joint general body meeting held to condemn the police action against protesting lawyers across the country and the siege of the SHC building by law-enforcement agencies on Nov 5, 2007.

The lawyers’ representatives said retired general Pervez Musharraf had taken the illegal steps on Nov 3 last year to save his regime, and slammed the PPP-led coalition government for “following the polices of the dictator even after his departure” and for giving him “a safe passage instead of charging him under Article 6 of the Constitution”. They also condemned the violence of law-enforcement agencies against the legal fraternity across the country on Nov 5, 2007.

Addressing the joint general body meeting of the SHCBA and the Karachi and Malir Bar Associations held in the high court bar room (Iftikhar Hall), they also criticised the rulers for amending the Bar Council Act through an ordinance promulgated by President Zardari and said the government was trying to victimise the lawyers to suppress their movement. But the lawyers, they said, would not surrender to force and would continue the struggle till the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary.

A former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Munir A. Malik, lauded the lawyers’ struggle for the restoration of the independent judiciary and the rule of law, and said it would always be remembered in the history of Pakistan.

Rejecting the reports that the lawyers’ movement had lost momentum, he said the legal fraternity was still in high spirits and every citizen of the country was talking about independence of the judiciary now.

He alleged that Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar had campaigned for M. Zafar, a pro-government candidate in the recent polls of Supreme Court Bar Association, adding that Ali Ahmed Kurd’s victory had proved that the lawyers were united.

Condemning the fresh amendments to the Bar Council Act, the former SCBA president stated that an independent bar was the first step towards an independent bench, and the independence of the judiciary was not possible without an independent bar, adding that the government was planning to take action against the lawyers demanding the restoration of independent the judiciary. He vowed to continue the struggle till the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges.

President of the Sindh High Court Bar Rasheed A. Razvi said Pervez Musharraf had imposed the state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007 to target the judiciary, the media and the legal fraternity, but he was not accepting the resistance put up by the lawyers, which eventually forced him to quit.

He condemned the police action against lawyers on Nov 5 last year and expressed his resolve to continue the ongoing movement until its objectives were achieved.

Referring to a statement of the Punjab governor, in which he had reportedly said that he was capable of handling the lawyers, Mr Razvi said the governor was an agent of Pervez Musharraf and he would also meet the fate of his mentor.

President of the Karachi bar association Mahmoodul Hasan said the PCO judges had betrayed the lawyers’ movement and disregarded all scarifies rendered by the legal fraternity during the struggle.

He maintained that the assassinated chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party had always resisted dictators but his party was following the policies of the dictatorial regime.Criticising the judges who had taken the oath under the PCO-2007, the KBA chief stated that several petitions regarding the CNG price increase and other public issues were filed in the Supreme Court and high courts but those petitions were pending as no proper action had been taken on them.

“We want to make parliament sovereign and it will only be possible when the independent judiciary is restored, but the rulers do not want to do so,” he said and added that the present government was responsible for the financial crisis and the nation would hold them accountable for it.

Sindh Bar Council Member Salahuddin Gandapur underlined the need to intensify the ongoing struggle for the restoration of the independent judiciary and said it was highly deplorable that instead of charging Gen Musharraf under Article 6 for abrogating the Constitution twice, the democratic government was giving him a safe passage, thus encouraging further military interventions in the country’s political affairs.

KBA general-secretary Naeem Qureshi, Aleem Siddiqui and Nehal Hashmi also spoke. Before the general body meeting a few lawyers had protested against the presence of former Sindh High Court judge Khwaja Naveed in the bar room and chanted slogans against him.

The lawyers took out a procession after the general body meeting from the Sindh high court bar office and staged a protest demonstration at the Karachi Press Club.

Surrounded by the heavy police contingents that had been deployed around the high court and the press club, participants of the rally waved placards, banners and flags while raising anti-Zardari and anti-government slogans.

Travelling in small groups, the lawyers belonging to the Karachi and the Malir bar associations also reached the premises of the Sindh High Court Bar to take part in the joint general body meeting and procession.

Some workers of the Jamaat-i-Islami, the PML-N and Pasban, a non-governmental organisation, and members of civil society also participated in the demonstration.

Addressing the gathering at the press club, Mohammad Hussain Mehnati of the Jamaat-i-Islami criticised the government for not fulfilling its promises regarding the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary and said the ruling PPP had taken part in the movement before coming into power, but today its leadership had refused to reinstate Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and others deposed judges.

He said his party would stand by the legal fraternity till the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry and his colleagues.

Saleem Zia of the PML-N praised the lawyers for sustaining the movement and said the PML-N had a very clear stance on the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary.

He urged the government to reinstate the deposed chief justice and his associates and warned the rulers that the lawyers’ movement had forced a military dictator to quit and it was also capable of forcing the “civil dictators” to do so.

Meanwhile, the lawyers boycotted legal proceedings at the City Courts and the Malir District Courts to condemn the police action against the lawyers on Nov 5 last year.

Though the under-trial prisoners were brought to the City Courts’ lockup from different prisons, their cases could not be heard due to the strike. Meanwhile, a partial boycott of court proceedings was observed at the Sindh high court.