Lawyers determined to go ahead with March 9 plan
TOBA TEK SINGH, Feb 21: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Secretary Chaudhry Amin Javed has announced that if judges deposed under the Nov 3 Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) are not restored by March 7, a long-march of lawyers and political activists led by all deposed judges will start from Lahore to Islamabad on March 9.
Flanked by District Bar Association President Mian Shoaib Muhammad and senior lawyers Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmad and Mian Abdul Qadoos, the SCBA secretary told reporters on Thursday that judges of the Sindh High
Court deposed under the
PCO led by chief justice Sabeehuddin Ahmad would arrive at Multan by air from Karachi on March 8 from where they all would lead a march to Lahore.
Javed said deposed judges of the Peshawar High Court led by chief justice Tariq Pervaiz Khan would reach Lahore by road from where all the judges would board a judicial bus leading the long-march of lawyers, civil society people and political activists to the capital.
He said the participants of the long-march would stage a sit-in in front of the Parliament House to demand the reinstatement of all the deposed judges.
He urged all political parties to join hands in larger interest of the country and democracy and form a coalition government excluding the PML-Q.
However, he said, the MQM could be allowed to join the coalition government only if its leadership accepted the agenda of democratic forces and the demand of restoration of judges deposed under the PCO.
He warned if political parties grabbing majority in the Feb 18 polls failed to get the judges restored, the lawyers would not hesitate launching a movement against these political parties too.
He said the boycott of the newly-appointed judges and the judges who took oath under the PCO was till Feb 18, but now a Pakistan Bar Council meeting would be held to decide the next line of action.
He paid a tribute to Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani for withdrawing army men from government departments and for issuing statement that it was the duty of Election Commission to hold free and fair elections.
He claimed that only this statement of the army chief had resulted in holding of 95 per cent free and impartial elections.
He paid a tribute to Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, who belonged to Toba district, for fighting for the independence of the judiciary.
Later, Advocate Mian Abdul Basit hosted a lunch for Javed, who also belongs to Toba district.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/22/2008
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