Pak lawyers' movement dying down because of internal, political differences

Lahore, Apr 24 : The yearlong movement of lawyers for the restoration of the judiciary in Pakistan seems to be dying down slowly, as internal rifts and fissures have started appearing in the lawyers' community. The main reason for the movement's seeming failure is that the lawyers are divided on political lines, i.e. they owe their allegiance to different political parties.

Other reasons cited for the same are -- Unilateral decision-making by a few Bar leaders, the affiliation of certain lawyers with ruling parties, the appointment of new judges in the higher judiciary and the economic hardships suffered by lawyers due to a year of boycotting court proceedings have all contributed to the gradual fragmentation of the movement, sources said.

Various lawyers' groups have parted ways with the movement altogether, they added.

Some lawyers' representatives maintain that there was no need to initiate a movement against the democratic government, and say that this would only work towards derailing democracy, which the lawyers had restored through their campaign.

Pro-PPP lawyers are against any movement which opposes the elected government, and favour leaving the issue of the judiciary's restoration to the government, to be resolved at an appropriate time. According to them, it is not necessary for the government to resolve the matter by April 30 - the date for the restoration pledged by the coalition government.

Some are of the view that the continuous boycott of courts by lawyers has resulted in financial losses to them, hence they are no more in favour of carrying forwards the movement. "Common lawyers are fed up with the continuous boycott of courts and the double-standard policies of a few Bar leaders, and will not join another phase of the movement," the Daily Times quoted Pakistan Bar Council member Parvaiz Anayat Malik as saying.

Most bar leaders were fairly well-off, but most lawyers barely manage to make ends meet through their legal practices, he said and added that it had now become impossible for them to initiate another phase of the movement, which was useless anyway.

ANI