Pakistan protest Islamabad-bound

The lawyers are approaching the last leg of their protest Lawyers in Pakistan are due to start a motorised protest from Lahore to Islamabad to demand the restoration of judges sacked by President Musharraf.

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Best wishes.
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[Concerned Pakistani]

So what the long March Acieved.....?

Yes ...exactly Nothing. In fact it has split the blood sucking lawyer community in two.

Here is an article by Cowasjee that nicely sums up the situation.

Our Great Redeemers:
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/cowas.htm

And this:

PBC apologises for ‘honest mistake’
By Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, June 16: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has asked the legal fraternity to forgive their leadership for an ‘honest mistake’ made on Saturday when the long march was called off without staging a sit-in for ‘even a day’.

Hamid Khan, a PBC member, said on Monday:“Termination without staging a sit-in was a big mistake that … benefited Musharraf and his cohorts”.

He was talking to reporters here at the All Pakistan Representatives Conference in Islamabad to be held on June 28 on restoration of the pre-Nov-3 judiciary.

“The PBC will analyse … the long march to avoid mistakes in future,” a statement signed by Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman Haji Syed Rehman and chairman of the executive committee Rasheed A. Razvi said.

Hamid Khan said the decision to “hastily conclude the march was taken by one individual who announced it … without taking the implementation committee that was overseeing the event into confidence”.

He said that members of the committee were under the impression that lawyers would stage “at least a day-long sit-in but its (sudden) termination should be construed as an honest mistake”.

“Many bar associations went away fuming over the lost opportunity to force the government to reinstate the deposed judges,” Mr Khan said.

[Concerned Pakistani]

FINELINE wrote:

Best wishes.
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What a joke:

Aitzaz under fire over decision to ‘skip’ sit-in

Staff Report-Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: The members of Rawalpindi District Bar Association (RDBA) and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), Rawalpindi bench, on Monday split into pro and anti-Aitzaz Ahsan groups in a meeting, which discussed the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president’s abrupt announcement to end the lawyers’ long march on Islamabad without staging a sit-in in front of parliament on Saturday.

Former RDBA general secretary Intizar Mehdi that the lawyers had lost faith with Aitzaz Ahsan, who had damaged the lawyers’ movement for the judges’ reinstatement beyond repair by ending the long march inconclusively.

He said that the lawyers wouldn’t trust Aitzaz until he detached himself from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which was not for the sacked judges’ reinstatement. He also asked Aitzaz to step down as the SCBA chief.

Sanaullah Zahid of Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) claimed that the lawyers’ high command had time and again announced the staging of a sit-in by the marchers in front of parliament.

Zahid said he had spoken to Hamid Khan of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Abdur Rehman Ansari of the SCBA on Friday night and the two confirmed that the caravan would stay put at the Parade Avenue until the judges were restored. He said that the entire nation was disappointed to see the massive long march ending without achieving its desired results. He said that the leadership should have taken the lawyers into confidence before announcing dispersal of the marchers.

He said that Aitzaz Ahsan’s ‘individual’ decision would damage the lawyers’ movement much. Anwar Dar of the LHCBA, Rawalpindi bench, said that people, who had come to Islamabad from across the country with a plan to stage a sit-in outside parliament till the judges’ restoration, felt betrayed by the unproductive long march.

Ansa Satti of the RDBA said that ending the long march was ending the lawyers’ movement and the lawyers would be unable to get the judges restored in future. The pro-Aitzaz Ahsan lawyers, however, defended the long march’s culmination with a sit-in. They claimed that the whole exercise was to mobilise people on the issue of the judges’ restoration and independent judiciary. RDBA Secretary General Sajid Tanoli said that the long march caravan had no plans to stage a sit-in in Islamabad and reports in this respect were without foundation.

LHCBA, Rawalpindi Bench, Vice President Babar Ali said that the decision to end long march without a sit-in was based on wisdom. He asked people, especially the lawyers, to be patient and said that only time would prove Ahsan’s loyalty to the sacked judges. RDBA Vice President Farhad Iqbal Khattak and former RDBA joint secretary Shahbaz Rajput said that no one had tasked the marchers with staying put at the Parade Avenue until the judges were restored. They denied any rift in the community. They said that the lawyers were upset the way the long march ended but they stood united under the current leadership.

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The long march was very successful. No movement especially a just one as this is achieved with sitting on your hands. It shows the enormous support that this cause has, even though some will play down it's significance. The new government has moved very slowly in implementing it's promises and continuously delaying what it promised at election time. Nawaz Sharif, and his party will benefit and gain more support, with PPP delaying tactics.

It was good to see that the march was peaceful, I was always concerned that there might be a bomb blast or some other incident to distract from the main issue. There will always be incidents that some would say that we should have done this or done that. No big deal, but some will always try to capitalize on this, because they don't support the cause, they would prefer no law and order, and a dictator!!!!!

People of Pakistan, be determined, don't let them dust you under the carpet.
Long Live Pakistan.

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The long march staged for the reinstatement of the sacked judiciary has conveyed a clear message of what the people want to the Presidency, parliament and incumbent Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan has said. He said the Pakistan Bar Council, the Lawyers’ Joint Action Committee and the Long March Implementation Committee had unanimously decided to organise a long march, but had not taken any decision to stage a sit-in, BBC Urdu reported. He said the long march was not the last option for the restoration of the judges, as the lawyers had several other options, including a train march and an international convention. The lawyers could also stage a sit-in if it is required, he said, but did not elaborate. Aitzaz said that staging a sit-in was not a simple task and needed complete preparation in consultation with all lawyers’ organisations.

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Well done, you got my support Nawaz Sharif.
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The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said on Monday that it did not hijack the lawyers’ movement for the sacked judges’ reinstatement “as claimed by certain quarters”. The party said in a statement it had been mobilising the people to ensure a massive support for the success of the movement for the sacked judges’ restoration. It said the party believed that the lawyers’ movement could not culminate without massive public support. The statement said the PML-N would continue participating in future demonstrations for an independent judiciary.“The independence of the judiciary is not only an issue of lawyers but a matter of life and death for the country,” it stated.