Lawyers to devise future strategy today.

Lawyers to devise future strategy today: ‘Lock-the-courts’ proposal likely to be trashed
* PBC vice chairman expresses reservations over proposal

By Rana Tanveer

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Lawyers’ Representatives Conference in Lahore today (Saturday), due to chart the future of lawyers’ movement, is likely to turn down a Lahore Bar proposal to lock up courtrooms in protest.

The conference will discuss important issues about the movement and devise its future strategy, including the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) proposal to lock up courtrooms in the country. Lawyers, however, are likely to turn down the proposal during the conference, where Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Said Rehman, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan and senior officials of lawyer bodies across the country will be present.

LHCBA and its three allied benches had proposed to lock up courtrooms across the country to protest against the government for not reinstating the judges sacked on November 3, 2007.

All lawyer bodies are against the proposal and they dub it as “impracticable”.

Reservations: PBC Vice Chairman Rehman expressed his reservations on the proposal and said that a final decision would be taken in the convention. It has to be a majority decision, he said, adding that the PBC would stop short of any such proposal.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan is also against the proposal. In an LHCBA general house meeting, he had said the proposal was “improper”. Aitzaz said the move could lead to arrests of lawyers.

District bar associations in a joint convention in Lahore on July 5 also expressed reservations over the proposed step.

The bar association cannot take such decisions individually, it said, adding the National Action Committee of the lawyers was the competent body to decide such maters.

SCBA Secretary Amin Javed told Daily Times that there was no proper time for locking the courts, adding that lawyers’ movement must remain peaceful and the move would damage the image of the entire movement. SCBA does not favour moves that could disturb law and order, Javed said. He said the step would be harsh, adding there were not much chances of the proposal’s approval.

LHCBA President Anwar Kamal asked him to support the proposal, PBC member Qazi Anwar said. “I advised him not to tow the proposal,” Anwar added.

However, LHCBA Secretary Rana Asadullah Khan told Daily Times that he was confident about the acceptance of the proposal. He said the step was important to get the judges reinstated. The judicial system must be jammed if the lawyers were to get the judges reinstated, he said.

Link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C07%5C19%5Cstory_19-7-2008_pg7_5