Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has said country's existence is linked with freedom of judiciary, adding judiciary would be free when Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will resume his duties as Chief Justice Pakistan.
Addressing lawyers' rally for restoration of judiciary taken out on the Mall here on Thursday, Imran said the lawyers not only made country proud but also provided the elusive leadership to the people. Imran Khan urged the political parties, which want democracy in the country, to join hands and wage an irreversible movement against the government.
Earlier, addressing the general body meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), prominent leader of lawyers' movement and member Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Hamid Khan urged the new office-bearers of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to expedite the movement for a free judiciary.
He urged the lawyers to prepare for the planned protest of November 3, the same day a year earlier General Pervez Musharraf (Rted) illegally and unconstitutionally removed over 60 judges and imposed emergency rule in the country. He said during the day deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad would address Rawalpindi Bar Association and later lawyers would march towards the Constitution Avenue.
Hamid Khan said the Attorney General, the law minister and Justice Dogar lost justification to continue in their offices as the SCBA elections served as a referendum in the favour of Justice Chaudhry and against them.
Former LHCBA president and member PBC Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari said SCBA polls showed the lawyers are united. He praised the lawyers affiliated with PPP like Aitzaz Ehsan, Former Justice Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokar, Raja Zulqarnain and others for voting Ali Ahmad Kurd in the elections.
Ansari invited the "deserters"' of the movement to rejoin it and warned the top government functionaries not to come in the way of lawyers. Former SCBA secretary Amin Javed warned that the country's affairs would go from bad to worse if rulers still persisted to "keep the judiciary hostage". President LHCBA Anwar Kamal Nisar Safdr, Mohammad Taqi Khan and Mansab Awan advocate also spoke.