The Human Rights Committee of Sindh Bar Council has called upon the legal fraternity of Sindh to boycott proceedings of courts at all levels on Monday (tomorrow) to protest against the illegal suspension of Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
In a statement on Saturday Chairman of the committee Advocate Aqil Lodhi said that Mr Justice Chaudhry was called to see President General Pervez Musharraf at the Army House, hemmed in for more than five hours and then suspended and another judge was sworn in as acting chief justice.
He said that members of the bar councils throughout Sindh on Monday should wear black armband, boycott proceedings of courts, and assemble at their respective bar rooms to lodge strong protest against the humiliating action taken against a judge of the superior judiciary. He also asked all bar councils to hoist black flag at bar rooms.
Earlier, in the morning the committee had met under the chairmanship of Lodhi to discuss the situation arising out of this development in Islamabad. Among those who attended the meeting were President Karachi Bar Council Iftikhar Javed Qazi, member Mohammed Ali Abbasi, Chairman Sindh Bar Executive Committee Fazal Qadir Memon and others.
The meeting also adopted a resolution saying that the army government could not tolerate a weak chief justice and reduced him to the level of a clerk in 'KMC'. The resolution has said that before initiating action against the chief justice reference should have been filed. The position in this case is vice versa. The committee has expressed its reservations about the letter, which has provided basis for this action.