Lawyers leaving a rally on The Mall on Thursday urged the army chief to get the army house vacated from Pervez Musharraf as they believed that conspiracies were being hatched there for formation of new government. The LHCBA and Lahore Bar Association after their general body meetings marched on The Mall and disbursed before the provincial assembly peacefully.
The rally was joined by a number of political and human rights activists, students, and members of civil society. The participants were holding black flags, wearing black strips, banners, placards and chanting slogans against President Musharraf, military and the judges who took oath under Presidential Constitutional Order (PCO). The rally later disbursed peacefully before the provincial assembly. The bar members and others participants also took out a caravan which concluded at Data Darbar after proceedings on different roads of the city.
The speakers while addressing bar members vowed that their protest would continue till the deposed judges resumed the office. The bar meeting, presided over by the Bar president Anwar Kamal was addressed by secretary Rana Asadullah Khan, and senior bar members Aftab Farrukh, Nisar Safdar, Anwar Kamal, Rana Assad Ullah, Hafiz Abdul Rahman Ansari and Ahmad Awais.
Ansari said lawyers' movement was close to success and at this stage, the rival elements had become more active to frustrate them through various conspiracies. One of them, he said, was objection to the Black Flag Week being observed under the announcement of SCBA president Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.
He said, Musharraf was now counting his last days in power and added the same time that the Bush administration in this situation was all out to keep him in the office. He asked America not to intervene in Pakistan's affairs and respect the public verdict which, he added, has been given against General Musharraf. Ahmad Awais said, some black sheep sat in their ranks but their conspiracies would not succeed. He said target of the lawyers was an independent judiciary on which they would not enter in any compromise with anyone.
The Bar president Anwar Kamal in his address laid stress on keeping their unity intact and condemned the elements which were out to create confusion about the lawyers stand. He said the new government had sought 30 days to restore the judges and the lawyers had begun the countdown. Lawyers, he said, would come to rest only after the judges had resumed the office and they would continue their struggle in the meantime.