Report on police action against lawyers demanded
LAHORE – Lawyers have called for the release of report prepared by the Lahore High Court on the direction of Supreme Court on the March 17, 2007 police action against the lawyers in the city.
The inquiry was conducted by senior judge of the LHC and the report on the same was forwarded to the SC in May last. No action has been taken in light of the report while one year has elapsed since the incident took place, said vice president SCBA Ghulam Nabi Bhatti, executive member Khwaja Suhail Tariq, Rana Farman Ali Sabir and media coordinator of the Bar Muhammad Azhar Sidique during a meeting with president Lahore Press Club Mohsin Goraya, former president PUJ Arif Iqbal Bhatti, sitting president Shahzad Hassan Butt and the senior members of the club at the LPC here Tuesday.
The Bar leaders on the occasion presented bouquet to the media persons to recongise their role in the lawyers’ movement.
On the occasion, the bar leaders appreciated the role played by media in city on March 17 last year when the law enforcing agencies had clashed with the lawyers protesting against the sacking of CJP Iftikhar Chaudhary, as a result of which not only dozens of advocates but media persons performing duty had sustained injuries. On that day the police and their armoured vehicle moved inside the LHC premises in the chase of lawyers and hurled teargas shell all around.
The bar and the media leaders have asked the SC to make the report public even if taking of action in light of its findings was not possible in near future. The Bar leaders expressed their solidarity with the media and said they were now like one family in their struggle for the rule of law in the country. The LPC president Mohsin Goraya said it was lawyers’ movement which gave awareness to the masses and by that, they elected the parties which stood for a real democracy and supremacy of the constitution in the country.
M Azhar Siddique on the occasion responding to a query regarding restoration of the deposed judges said, decision of the seven-member bench passed on the eve of Nov 3 to suspend operation of the emergency, the PCO and to debar the judges from taking oath under the PCO was very much holding the field and the executive in process of implementing that decision under Article 189 of the Constitution could put the judiciary back to Nov 2 position. To a question on the likely suspension of NA resolution for restoration of judges by the SC, he said under the constitution the court was not competent to overpower the authority of the Parliament or to stop it from taking any decision. As such, he said, any attempt at preventing the resolution would be unconstitutional and an unlawful act.
Source: The Nation
Date:3/19/2008
” 
” 
” 
” 
