Lawyers and political parties hold rallies

The lawyers' community and opposition parties on Tuesday observed full day strike here in the metropolis and took out peaceful procession at Mall Road against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Earlier the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and Lahore Bar Association (LBA) held protest meetings and condemned the action of president General Musharraf to suspend CJP and demanded his restoration on his constitutional position.
They also expressed solidarity with Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and resolved to continue their struggle till the ouster of the present government.
The bars later took out protest rallies from their respective Bar premises and joined each other before the main gate of the Lahore High Court (LHC). The members and office bearers of Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council, and Supreme Court Bar Association also joined the procession. The bar members were holding placards, banners and chanting slogans against President Musharraf and Chief Minster Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.
Workers of political parties and leaders also joined them. Among others PPPP, PML-N, Tehrik-e-Insaf, MMA, Labour Party and Khaksar Tehrik workers participated in the protest rally.
The bar members proceeded at the Mall Road peacefully and dispersed before the Punjab Assembly Hall where they staged a sit-in. President LHCBA and LBA addressed the gathering and said that the days of the present regime had been numbered. They said government wanted to sabotage the lawyers' struggle by activating the pro-government lawyers in the bars, but bar members would not allow anyone to do so they added.
They said such efforts from the government side were aimed to find pretext to impose emergency in the country. They said lawyers would not allow the government to take such steps to push the country into the disaster and called upon the lawyers to forge unity among their ranks and continue their struggle in a disciplined way.
They also appealed to the political parties and people of all walks to join their struggle and oust the regime form power. Later they returned back to the bar premises and sat in the hunger strike camps. They remained in the camps and did not appear before the courts.
Adliya Bachao Committee (ABC) also held its hunger strike camp in the premises of LHCBA. A number of political and human rights' activists joined the protest camp and expressed solidarity with Chief Justice of Pakistan and Dr Abdul Qadir whose photograph was placed in the camp.