Musharraf’s emergency rule: Lawyers across the country observe ‘black day’

Legal community boycotts court proceedings in remembrance of November 3, 2007.

KARACHI/LAHORE:

Lawyers all over the country observed November 3 as a ‘black day’, in remembrance of the emergency imposed by former president Pervez Musharraf in 2007, when several members of the legal community including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry were imprisoned.

In Karachi, blacks flags were hoisted and black arm bands were worn as members of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA), Malir Bar Association (MBA) Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA), and district bar associations of the entire province boycotted court proceedings. Judges had to adjourn hundreds of cases as a result. Later in the day, general body meetings were held at respective bar associations.

Addressing a gathering at the KBA, Honorary Secretary Syed Haider Imam Rizvi said that November 3, 2007 will go down as the day when Musharraf encroached upon the constitution and promulgated the notorious Provisional Constitution Order, thus committing “high treason”.

In Islamabad, lawyers of the Islamabad District Bar and the Islamabad High Court Bar (IHCB) also observed the “Black Day,” hoisted a black flag in court and were absent during proceedings. IHCB Association President Chaudhry Ashraf Gujjar said that lawyers and media had played a vital role in restoring the judiciary and would continue to struggle. The lawyers also passed a unanimous resolution denouncing the events of November 3.

Lawyers in Lahore also skipped court sessions, in unity with the rest of the country’s legal community. A general house meeting was held under the patronage of President Lahore High Court Bar Association Asghar Ali Gill. The lawyers noted how during the emergency, the former president sacked 60 judges, and the lawyers who protested this unconstitutional move were beaten and put behind bars.

They added that those who sacrificed their lives during the movement would not be forgotten. Coming out in strong support of the legal system, lawyers said that the power of the constitution had been victorious in the face of the power of force.

WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OBAID ABBASI IN ISLAMABAD

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th,  2011.