Declaration adopted at the National Conference for the restoration of independent judiciary held at Islamabad on 4th March, 2009.

This National Conference having deliberated upon the need for the restoration of the independent judiciary in the country and for that purpose it was necessary to undertake a peaceful and non-violent Long March to Islamabad and then to peacefully undertake a sit-in (Dharna) in front of the Parliament House, adopts the following resolution:

WHEREAS: This Conference is of the view that the actions taken by the General Musharaf on November 03, 2007 were wholly illegal, malafide and unconstitutional and therefore cannot be sustained;

AND WHEREAS: The action of November 03, 2007 ought to have been reversed by executive action and all their effects ought to have been purged immediately after General Elections of February 18, 2008 but was not done;

AND WHEREAS: The martyred leader of Pakistan Peoples’ Party Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had promised a Long March to ensure the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry and his independent colleagues; while Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, the Co-chairman Pakistan Peoples’ Party has thrice through formally written and signed declarations, promised the restoration of the judges to the position that prevailed on November 02, 2007; but these promises have not been kept by the Federal Government;

AND WHEREAS: The people of Pakistan demand for an independent judiciary so that the nation may attain stability, prosper, progress economically and develop into one of the leading states in the comity of nations, as an independent judiciary is the most essential element to ensure the sustenance and stability of the democratic order, to ensure economic growth and to attract investment, that will then address the problems of unemployment, inflation, crimes, law and order to make Pakistan a terror-free and peaceful place;

AND WHEREAS: This Conference is of the opinion that after the failure to fulfill its promises the Government has left the nation with no option whatsoever but to take recourse to a peaceful and non-violent Long March and Dharna as proposed by the Lawyers of Pakistan;

AND WHEREAS: The Conference has taken note of the unconstitutional steps taken by the Federal Government in imposing Governor’s Rule in the Punjab and ousting the government of a Party that continues to display that it has mandate of the people of the Punjab. The Conference is aware that this illegal step has been taken to attempt to subvert the Long March and Dharna but has resulted in such a designed turmoil in the Punjab Police that resulted in the security lapse resulting in the tragic attack on Sri Lankan Cricketers in Lahore. Had the malafide transfers not been made, and had the Punjab government not been ousted this tragic incident would have been prevented.


NOW THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED THAT:
This Conference calls upon the entire nation to participate wholeheartedly in the Long March scheduled to start from Quetta and Karachi on March 12, 2009 so as to reach Islamabad on March 16, 2009 and there to stage a peaceful and non-violent Dharna (sit-in) until the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry and his colleagues judges are restored to the offices they held on 02 November, 2007.