City lawyers showed mixed reaction on the nomination of a former chief justice of Sindh High Court, Wajihuddin Ahmed, as lawyers' presidential candidate, terming it as a first step towards the liberalisation of democracy in Pakistan.
Talking to Business Recorder on Friday, some young and politically inactive advocates said that the nomination of Wajih was like a whiff of fresh air in the suffocating political atmosphere in the country.
They said that Wajih being a straightforward and 'purely a legal mind' was the most suitable man to be picked up by the lawyers' community as their presidential candidate.
Samad Ahmed, a fresh law graduate, said that the nomination had been seen by many people as against lawyers' own stand on the legality of the presidential election, but the situation should be looked at from a different angle.
"We know that only miracle a can make Wajih the next president of Pakistan, but his presence is a message to the civil society that enough is enough, and people should now wake up and liberate Pakistan from the perpetual army rule."
His colleague, Ashraf, said the political parties were unable to unite for various reasons. Heads of all political parties want to grab the top slot in the government. "After all, you can have only one president and only one prime minister at one time, whereas, all the heads of the political parties are in the queue seeking the highest positions. There are dim chances that they would unite at any stage. Lawyers' community is there to show them a way out. It is struggle for a cause and not for a position that Wajih symbolises".
They said that once the system is in place the ultimate beneficiary would be the politicians, people of Pakistan, and the coming generation that is completely bewildered at the moment.
Some young advocates were of the opinion that as long as the lawyers were fighting for independence of judiciary and restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in his rightful position the struggled was meaningful. But, after achieving that objective it was time to concentrate on professional obligations instead of becoming a party in the political drama being staged in the country, they added.
They said that a few senior advocates, for their ultimate political gains, were using Wajih. "It would harm them and expose many of the double faceted lawyers. If they lose public confidence once, they would never be able to regain it." They said that it was a bad trend, and it would harm the unity the lawyers had gained during the agitation against the government in CJP matter.
They said that the protests and strikes should now come to an end, and the advocates should concentrate on their cases. "After all, we have some obligations towards our clients. Are we fulfilling that, or are we doing justice with the professional ethics?"
In the meantime, preparations to stage black day on Saturday to protest against the presidential election have been completed. There will be complete boycott of courts. Rallies would be taken out and corner meetings would be held to condemn the electioneering of General Pervez Musharraf for another five-year term as president of Pakistan.
The lawyers would wear black armbands, hoist black flags on bar buildings, and call on the members of the judiciary to support them in their struggle against army rule in Pakistan. Chairman of human rights and legal aid committee of the Sindh Bar Council, Aaqil Lodhi, has appealed to the legal fraternity across Sindh to observe peaceful black day on September 29.
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