The president of High Court Bar Association (SCBA), Multan, Mehmood Ashraf Khan, on Monday said that lawyers would start their countrywide protest and long march on June 11, from Multan, which is hometown of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Multan is also famous for its extreme hot weather in summer. Protesting lawyers will run the risk of heat-stroke during long march in Multan. Protective measures like lawyers' procession in air-conditioned cars and vans is advisable within Multan to escape excessive heat.
This would be a historic day in Multan. Briefing the newsmen after a meeting of the 27 bar associations of southern Punjab (which are the host of this long march), he said that the meeting had finalised the strategy for launching the long march and had formed committees for monitoring the processions. He said that lawyers across the country would reach Multan on June 10 to launch the long march.
He said processions from Balochistan, Sukkur and Karachi, to be led by former vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, Ali Ahmad Kurd, and presidents of Sukkur and Karachi Bar Associations would reach Multan on June 10.
He said sacked and retired judges of the superior courts would also participate in the long march, and on June 11, all processions would leave Multan for Lahore via Sahiwal and Okara, where the ex-judges would address the bar associations.
He said on June 12 the processions from Lahore, NWFP and Azad Kashmir would leave for Islamabad and assemble in front of the Parliament House. During the journey to Faisalabad on Islamabad-Lahore Motorway and then Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway, different caravans will join the chief justice's cavalcade. He, however, said Justice Chaudhry would not address anywhere during the journey.
He said committees had also been constituted to create awareness among students, traders, members of civil society and masses to join hands with lawyers for the independence of the judiciary and true democracy. Besides other committees, he said, two committees have also been formed to monitor and oversee the caravans of masses, traders, students, women, labourers and farmers.
Mehmood said lawyers and members of the civil society will gather at the residence of sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday from where they would leave for Faisalabad via the Motorway to participate in the lawyers' convention being held.
He said the sacked CJ's visit to Faisalabad was not part of the long march. He said the slogan of the long march will be, 'We are out to save the country - come and join us'. He claimed the lawyers were fighting the war of masses, which would continue till the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.
He also appealed to the people to come out and join the lawyers' movement to save the country. Aitzaz said: "No lawyers' representative has been involved in making the draft of the proposed constitutional package; thus we will give our opinion after it comes to us." He said the draft would be shown to independent judges and if they accepted the draft, it would also be acceptable to lawyers.
Earlier, the meeting of the 27 bars of southern Punjab was held at the High Court Bar complex , presided over by Mehmood Khan The meeting was attended by PBC- ex-vice-chairman Aziz Akbar Baig and members of Punjab and Pakistan bar councils.
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