Lawyers’ rally echoes with anti-PPP chants.

Condemns LHC chief justice for initiating suo motu proceedings against lawyers Black coats announce 'silent protest' today LBA brings donkey in rally to personify PPP leadership

LAHORE: The lawyers have announced that they will observe silent protest on Friday, November 7. While addressing the lawyers and other participants of the weekly protest rally for the restoration of the deposed judges here Thursday on The Mall, the lawyers' leaders said their protest will be peaceful.

Lahore Bar Association President Manzoor Qadir, Pakistan Bar Council Member Hamid Khan and other lawyers' leaders further said their movement for the restoration of the deposed judges would be without violence and that they would continue their "peaceful protest."

Lawyers' leaders, however, said that if any of their colleagues would be arrested on the charges of locking out courts, no one from their side would file bail application before the courts.

Earlier, lawyers together with activists of civil society groups and political parties Thursday rallied on The Mall for the restoration of deposed chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Nov 2 position and condemned the chief justice Lahore High Court for initiating suo motu proceedings against lawyers.

A large number of activists of Jamat-e-Islami, Tehrik-e-Khaksar, Tehrik-e-Insaf, Labour Party, Pakhtoon Khawa Milli Awami Party, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan, Women Action Forum, and Concerned Citizens of Pakistan joined the rally holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of Nov 2 judiciary.

Starting from Aiwan-e-Adal they marched till Chairing Cross.Young lawyers were seen going out of control in their sloganeering as they approached the Faisal Chowk, Chairing Cross.

During the protest, lawyers stressed the government to restore all the sacked judges including deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Political activists were holding their party flags and were chanting slogans against the government.

For the first time since appointment of chief justice of the Lahore High Court, lawyers chanted slogans against him during the rally by climbing on the judges' gate of the Lahore High Court. They were condemning him for taking suo motu notice against the lawyers and making a 7 member bench to bring those lawyers to the book who locked the courtrooms on November 3.

The Lahore Bar Association and the Lahore High Court Bar Association after holding their general house meetings at their bar rooms, took out rallies from Aiwn-e-Adal courts and the LHC respectively. The LBA also brought a donkey in the rally to personify it with the PPP leadership to express its protest against it for not restoring the judges.

LHCBA lawyers joined the LBA lawyers at the GPO chowk and hold a joint march towards the Chairing Cross. Activists of the political parties also joined the rally at GPO chowk.

Prior to taking out the rally, in the general house meeting of the LHCBA all the speakers were vociferous against the LHC judges who were holding proceedings against the lawyers for locking the courts.

Although they were not in favour of the step of locking the courts but expressed their sympathies with the LBA lawyers against any action of the LHC which was holding proceeding against the step.

However according to the announced schedule the lawyers failed in taking the rally to the governor's house due to difference in opinion among the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Lahore Bar Association. The LHCBA announced to take the rally to governor's house but the LBA refused to follow the plan and its representatives stopped at Chairing Cross where they started delivering speeches compelling the LHCBA leadership to follow them.

Tight security arrangements around the Lahore High Court and along The Mall had been made in view of the Tala Bandi incident at districts courts the other day.

Traffic police had placed barricades on The Mall and traffic remained suspended.

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