Aitzaz alleges govt working to defeat Kurd.

LAHORE: LAWYERS on Thursday took out their weekly protest rallies and observed boycott of courts with the pledge to bring Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry back to his office.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan and Pakistan Bar Council Member Hamid Khan also joined the daylong protest activities of the lawyers and remained canvassing for Ali Ahmad Kurd, who has been fielded as a presidential candidate for the upcoming election of SCBA. Like last week, this Thursday the lawyers’ leaders led the rally to the Punjab Governor’s House. Earlier, the rallies used to culminate at Chairing Cross.

Firstly, the members of Lahore Bar Association (LBA) after holding a General House meeting came out from Aiwan-e-Adal and started marching on the Lower Mall and reached GPO Chowk where they were joined by the lawyers of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA). The joint rally marched towards the Governor’s House while chanting slogans against Asif Ali Zardari for not restoring the deposed judges’ en-bloc. On reaching outside the Governor’s House, the lawyers gathered in different groups and remained over there while delivering anti-government speeches and chanting slogans.

Activists of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and Khaksar Tehrik made their presence felt by holding their party flags and chanting slogans in favour of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and demanded the government to restore all the deposed judges.

They also chanted slogans against America and its operation in tribal areas of Pakistan.

Addressing the gathering outside the Governor’s House, Ali Ahmad Kurd said the lawyers were running their movement for the reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

He said that whoever would become a hurdle in the way of restoration of the deposed CJP, he would crush them with iron hands.

He said that October 28th, the scheduled day for the SCBA elections, would be the judgment day that deposed Justice Iftikhar was the real CJP.

He lauded that it was due to the lawyers’ movement that Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf doffed his uniform and now he found no shelter here.

Hamid Khan said the restoration of deposed CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry was the demand of the whole nation and 100,000 lawyers of Pakistan. He warned President Asif Ali Zardari, Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naek, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and Attorney General of Pakistan Sardar Latif Khosa not to impede the lawyers’ movement, adding that lawyers would give verdict against the government backed candidate in the upcoming SCBA’s elections.

Speaking on the occasion, Aitzaz Ahsan said that the aim of the lawyers’ movement was restoration of Justice Iftikhar.

He said that the lawyers would rest only after restoration of Justice Iftikhar. He said the lawyers’ movement would not end until its logical end.

The SCBA president alleged that some forces in the government were trying to defeat Ali Ahmad Kurd in the SCBA’s elections by using all unfair means. He pledged to stand-by the lawyers’ movement until the restoration of all deposed judges.

Highlighting the successes of lawyers’ movement, Aitzaz said it was due to the movement that Justice Iftikhar was restored on July 20, 2007, Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf shed his uniform on Nov 27, the exile leadership could return to Pakistan, general elections were held on Feb 18, 2008 and the government was offering deposed judges to rejoin courts

Member Pakistan Bar Council, Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari, LHCBA President Anwar Kamal, LBA President Manzoor Qadir and their cabinet members also spoke on the occasion.

link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=141495