Dawn : Lawyers boycott courts to protest Musharraf’s re-election

Lawyers boycott courts to protest Musharraf’s re-election

By Mudassir Raja | October 6, 2007

RAWALPINDI -- Lawyers at the district courts on Saturday boycotted court proceedings and held a protest at Kutchery Chowk against the re-election of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

A similar situation was witnessed in the courts in Chakwal, Talagang, Choa Saiden Shah and Taxila.

The lawyers observed October 6 as ‘Black Day’ in protest against the presidential election and gathered outside the court at the busy Kutchery intersection in Rawalpindi and blocked the road for about half an hour.

They chanted anti-Musharraf and pro-democracy slogans. Later they returned peacefully to the court premises.

In a general body meeting the lawyers condemned the efforts of the ruling party to get President Musharraf re-elected in uniform.

The speakers termed the presidential election a joke with the nation in the absence of any real opposition and violation of the Constitution.

Prior to their protest the lawyers observed complete boycott of court proceedings, virtually crippling court work.

Litigants faced problems due to absence of their counsel and were given another date for hearing of their cases. Judges seemed busy in doing away with their pending work load.

In the meantime high profile cases such as suicide attack on president and plot to bomb aeroplanes in London were adjourned without any headway in the absence of the defence counsel.

In the first case Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1 was to take up the bail application of Rana Faqir Hussain arrested in August 2007 for his alleged involvement in the double suicide attack on the convoy of President Gen Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.

The bail application of Rashid Rauf, arrested for his alleged connection with the plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights in August last year, has been deferred due to the court boycott by lawyers.

The plot was unearthed and foiled by British law enforcement agencies. Rashid was arrested from Rawalpindi last year while carrying some fake documents and material to make bombs.