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Lawyers call off boycott of superior judiciary

Staff Report

KARACHI: Lawyers all over Pakistan have decided to end their boycott of the superior judiciary and appear before judges of provincial high courts and the Supreme Court.

The decision, which was taken by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) at a meeting held Sunday in Peshawar, was endorsed Monday at a general body meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA).

The SHCBA members passed a unanimous resolution to condemn the restricted movement of Justice (retd) Rana Bhagwandas since Saturday evening and the arrest of eight civil society members who were protesting outside his Clifton residence.

They also criticized the continued detention of lawyer leaders, including Barrister Aitezaz Ahsan, president Supreme Court of Pakistan Bar Association (SCBA), and demanded the immediate release of all judges and lawyers detained by the government.

PBC Sindh Vice President Yasin Azad told Daily Times that the decision to end the boycott came as they had taken oaths under the Constitution of Pakistan, which is why they were now being addressed as ‘present judges’ and not ‘PCO judges’. “The decision was also taken after considering the hardships of common litigants but a reformed movement for the restoration of an independent judiciary would continue. As we had previously done during the movement for the restoration of Chief Justice of Pakistan (retd) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, members of the SHCBA and lawyers of Karachi would stage a daily one-hour token strike from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and a hunger strike for two hours.” He said that the PBC had planned provincial conventions of lawyers and that the boycott called on Thursday would continue.

Meanwhile, members of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) boycotted court proceedings on Monday, brought out a protest rally and also staged a sit in for a few minutes on main MA Jinnah road.

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