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May 18, 2008
Pakistani
Lawyers to March
for Return of Deposed Judges
Islamabad
Pakistani lawyers are to begin a "long march" across the country
June 10 to demand the reinstatement of Supreme Court and High Court
judges who were dismissed after President Pervez Musharraf declared
an emergency last November.
Representatives of the Pakistan bar council, the Supreme Court bar
association, provincial bar councils, High Court bars and district
bar associations decided after six hours of discussions in Lahore
Saturday to hold three All Pakistan Lawyers' Conventions May 24, May
31 and June 9, respectively.
It was also decided that deposed Supreme Court chief justice
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other dismissed judges would be
invited to the conventions as chief guests.
About 300 lawyers attended the conference and except for one
dissenting voice, the others unanimously supported the resolution
for the long march and the conventions, The News reported Sunday.
The restoration of the sacked judges has been a sticky point with
Pakistan's ruling coalition, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) pulling out its ministers after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
co-chair Asif Zardari refused to agree on Chaudhry's reinstatement.
Briefing reporters after the conference, Pakistan bar council vice
chairman Haji Syed Rehman said it had also been resolved to
constitute a committee of senior members to decide the modalities of
the three conventions as well as the route of the long march.
According to Supreme Court bar association president Aitzaz Ahsan,
the march had been named "Adlia Bahali (Long March) - long march for
the restoration of the judiciary".
In response to a query, he said if the government restored the
judges before June 10 the lawyers would turn the march into a
celebration.
May 18, 2008
IANS | Top
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