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CJP’s visit to Multan: June 23 caravan to start from PU underpass

Staff Report

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will leave for Multan at 6am on June 23 and thousands of lawyers will welcome him at the Punjab University Campus Underpass from where they will accompany him as a caravan consisting of hundreds of motorcars, coaches and buses, said representatives of various bars of the province.

They said the CJP would reach Lahore by air from Islamabad late in the night on June 22 and the next morning, along with thousands of city lawyers and citizens, would proceed to Multan where he is due to address the bar. On the way to Multan, the CJP caravan would be served breakfast at Pattoki by the Kasur district nazim, they said, adding that many lawyers would join his convoy there to proceed further.

Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) vice chairman Tariq Javed Warraich and PbBC Executive Committee chairman Arbab Ahmad Syed, told reporters that on the way to Multan, the district bars of Sahiwal, Okara, Chichawatni, Khanewal, Mian Channu, and Shorkot and the adjoining tehsil bars would receive the CJP and join his carvan. They said a large number of lawyers were expected to accompany the CJP.

They urged the people to also participate in the CJP’s caravan and show the same spirit and enthusiasm that they did on May 5 when he was on the way to the city via GT Road from Islamabad.

Arbab Ahmed Syed warned the administration against any check or blockade on the lawyers’ groups proceeding to Multan from various parts of the country to hear the CJP. He said the responsibility for the consequences would rest on the administration if any attempt was made to repeat the May 12 incident of Karachi. He warned that the victim this time would not be lawyers, but someone from the government quarters. Lahore Bar Association (LBA) president Syed Muhammad Shah said that around 800 to 1,000 lawyers of the LBA would accompany the CJP to Multan. He said the Multan rally would be the largest convoy so far.

Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) secretary Sarfaraz Ahmad Cheema appealed to lawyers and the people to accord an “unprecedented reception” to the CJP in Multan. He praised the lawyers’ successful movement and said the lawyers were indebted to the people for participating in their movement for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

Presidents of the district bars of Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Narowal, Gujarat and Shorkot and others pledged to give “a red carpet welcome” to the CJP. Gujarat Bar Association president Tahir Sadiq Butt accused the Punjab government of harassing lawyers for taking part in the movement against the government. He said Gujarat being a city of the Punjab had become an uncomfortable place for lawyers, but they would never retreat from their stance.

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