Black flags are back.

* LHCBA and LBA hoist black flags atop their buildings
* PbBC refuses to raise a flag following SCBA-PBC clash
* Politicians accuse sacked CJP of politicking

LAHORE: Some of the city’s bars hoisted black flags atop their buildings on Monday, following the call of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan.

Following General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s abdication on August 18, Aitzaz had told the country’s lawyers to remove the black flags from atop their bars and celebrate the day of deliverance. But when the coalition failed to reinstate the sacked judges, Aitzaz, on August 23, asked the country’s bars to re-hoist the flags atop all their buildings in protest.

Following the call, representatives of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) hoisted black flags on their buildings. However, the SCBA and the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) did not hoist any flag on their buildings.

PbBC: It was learnt that the PbBC vice chairman had announced that he would not follow Aitzaz’s guidelines after the SCBA’s clash with the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).

SCBA Media Adviser Muhammad Azhar Siddique said that they tried to hoist a flag atop the SCBA Lahore registry branch but the police did not let them. He said that since the lawyers had initiated the movement for the reinstatement of the sacked judges, they had not been allowed to enter the building.

PBC: The LHCBA and the LBA, before hoisting flags atop their bar buildings, held their general house meetings, where both bars condemned the PBC, accusing it of trying to sabotage the lawyers’ movement by siding with the government.

LHCBA President Anwar Kamal, while addressing the meeting, said that the PBC was a statutory body for the country’s lawyers but some of its members were following the directions of the government and trying to sabotage the lawyers’ movement.

Accusation: Kamal said that some politicians were trying to accuse sacked Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of politicking to put a halt to the reinstatement process.

He announced that on Thursday, the LHCBA’s lawyers would conduct a sit-in at Charing Cross Chowk from 12pm to 2pm.

LBA Secretary Latif Sarra said that the LBA, on Monday, through a unanimous resolution had banned entry of PBC members who were allegedly following the government in trying to sabotage the lawyers’ movement. He said that it was decided that the LBA would follow the decisions of the National Co-ordination Council, which was being headed by Aitzaz. He said on Thursday that the LBA lawyers would hold sit-ins at PMG Chowk and Kutcheri Chowk, on the road in front of the Cantonment courts and in front of the Model Town courts.

link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C26%5Cstory_26-8-2008_pg13_6