Political parties of all shades of opinion and lawyers' associations held demonstrations across the country on Monday to ratchet up pressure on the government to withdraw the March 9 presidential reference and reinstate Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The protesters were, by and large, peaceful as the police were under instructions to keep their distance.The demonstrators shouted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.
Among the major parties which organised the demonstrations were the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the Tehrik-i-Insaf and the Awami National Party. Some of the rallies were organised jointly by these parties while in some places, they brought out processions on their own.
Lawyers' representatives praised the political parties for supporting Justice Chaudhry. They called upon opposition legislators to resign their seats in emulation of judges and judicial officers.
At some demonstrations, the opposition parties also called for the establishment of an interim government to hold free and fair elections. Supporters of the PPP and the PML-N chanted slogans in favour of their leaders.
The government was `happy' that people had rejected the protest call.
The ruling party plans to hold pro-Musharraf rallies during the next few days. Official sources say that the rallies would neutralise the impact of protests organised against the president.
The opposition workers and leaders whom the police picked up from different parts of Punjab on Sunday were released on Monday. The PPP put the number of arrests at 1,000, but confirmed that all had been freed by evening.
Reports from Mianwali said police raids in search of `possible trouble-makers' continued till Monday morning.
In Lahore, hundreds of political leaders and activists marched from Neela Gumbad to the Lahore High Court building, on The Mall.Lawyers boycotted court proceedings in Lahore and elsewhere in Punjab to express solidarity with the opposition.
Separate hunger strike camps by groups of lawyers were set up at the high court and subordinate courts.
In Karachi, the opposition staged a peaceful rally, calling upon the president to resign `before the people of Pakistan throw him out of power'.
The call for the rally was given by the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, but other opposition parties, including the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Awami National Party and Tehrik-i-Insaf, also joined hands with the ARD to express solidarity with lawyers, the media and for the independence of the judiciary.
Workers and supporters of the Pakistan People's Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the Pakistan Democratic Party and the ANP assembled at the Regal Chowk. They were joined by MMA supporters later.
The component parties of the ARD staged demonstrations in other districts of Sindh.
Thousands turned up in rallies in Hyderabad, Thatta, Sanghar, Naushahro Feroze, Khairpur, Larkana, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Dadu.
Our Quetta Correspondent adds: A public meeting organised by the ARD adopted a resolution calling for the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Jamal Khan Jogezai, the acting president of PPP Parliamentarians in Balochistan, chaired the meeting at Meezan Chowk.
The resolution also called for an early general election.
Source: Dawn
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