Lawyers resolve to continue boycott
PESHAWAR, Feb 20: The NWFP Bar Council and entire bar associations in the province on Wednesday resolved to continue the boycott of courts and hold demonstrations across the province on Feb 25 if the barrooms and library were not unsealed and the FIR against the lawyers not withdrawn.
Through unanimously adopted resolution a meeting of the associations and the bar council asked General (retd) Pervez Musharraf to quit his post forthwith as the masses had turned down his policies against the judiciary and the media.
The lawyers announced that the boycott of the superior courts would continue till the restoration of the pre-Nov 3 judiciary whereas that of the subordinate courts would continue till Feb 23, the deadline set for the high court for withdrawing the FIR.“In case the high court fails to withdraw the said FIR and re-open the barrooms, library and cafeteria on the premises of the court, the provincial lawyers action committee would meet again on Feb 25 to decide future course of action and would also hold demonstrations on that day,” said the vice president of Supreme Court Bar Association, Saeed Akhter, at a press briefing.
The meeting, chaired by the vice-chairman of the bar council, Qazi Mohammad Naeem, congratulated the anti-Musharraf parties including Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party for their victory in the polls and reminded them that they were elected by the masses for the restoration of the deposed judges; setting free the deposed Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, other judges, SCBA president Aitzaz Ahsan and other lawyers and restoring the constitution in its original form.
They said that the lawyers’ movement had played a decisive role in the defeat of pro-Musharraf parties in the polls.
Mr Akhter stated that a delegation of lawyers had called on PHC Chief Justice Mohammad Raza Khan and other judges after registration of the FIR against lawyers on Feb 7 and sealing of barrooms and declaring the high court out of bound for the protesting lawyers.
He added that subsequently they also held another meeting and tried to convince the judges that the FIR was not based on facts as the lawyers had never misbehaved with the judges and had not manhandled any lawyer.
PHCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi said that they had respect for the judges and during the entire lawyers movement starting from March 9 they had not misbehaved with even a single judge.
Mr Afridi added that this was for the first time in the chequered judicial history of the country that majority of the judges said “No” to a dictator and declared his decision unconstitutional.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/21/2008
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