Nationwide protests by lawyers community

Black-coats urge government to bring Musharraf back, hold a treason trial.

LAHORE: Lawyers staged protests on Wednesday nationwide, condemning former president Pervez Musharraf’s actions of Nov 3, 2007, including imposition of emergency, promulgation of the Provisional Constitutional Order of 2007 and deposing judges of the superior courts.

The joint session of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) called for trying Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf under treason charges and banning politicians for supporting the dictator’s bid to impose emergency in 2007.

This was resolved in the joint meeting of the SCBA and LHCBA held under Asma Jahangir and Mian Abdul Qudus to mark November 3 as a black day.

The Balochistan chapters of the lawyers’ organisations urged the government to bring the former president back to the country. They also called for taking legal action against the former president for dissolving the Constitution and killing Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Black flags were hoisted at all buildings of the LHCBA, SCBA and Lahore Bar Association across the province. Lawyers wore black arm-bands. However, no protest demonstration was taken out in Lahore.

In Quetta, SCBA vice-president Amanullah Kanrani, president of the High Court Bar Hadi Shahkil and vice-president of the Balochistan Bar Nadir Chilgari declared all Nov 3, 2007, steps illegal and unconstitutional. Lawyers did not appear in courts and wore black arm-bands.

In Sindh, lawyers observed a day of peaceful protest in Karachi and other cities and towns of the province.

The call for taking action against the former president was strongly supported by the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) at its meeting which was presided over by its president Rasheed A Razvi.

In Peshawar, lawyers’ bodies held a joint meeting in the PHC bar room.

PHCBA’s general secretary Aminur Rehman moved a resolution denouncing the Nov 3, 2007, actions. In the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, various organisations of lawyers held separate meetings and passed unanimous resolutions. In district courts, Islamabad, lawyers observed a complete strike while the Islamabad Bar Association held a meeting and passed resolution to condemn November 3 acts.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2010.