Lawyers' countrywide protest on 25th QUETTA: The lawyers community will observe complete boycott of courts through out the country on April 25 to protest against holding of referendum to allow Chief of Army Staff to stay as the President for next five years. This decision was taken at the national convention of all the representative bodies of the lawyers including Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Bar Associations of all the four High Courts and District Bar Associations. After the convention the lawyers took out a protest procession and marched on the Mall Road defying a ban on the political rallies. The lawyers were chanting slogans against President Musharraf, the referendum, law ministers and the judiciary. The speakers at the convention, around 50 in all, had one voice to reject the referendum. The conference approved a resolution which called upon the people to boycott the referendum and to observe complete strike (court boycott) on April 25 to register their protest against the referendum. It was resolved that on the said date, lawyers will hold a protest meeting and rallies and take out processions throughout the country. The conference also resolved, that the Referendum Order and the referendum on 30th April are gross violations and contravention of the Constitution. “That the Referendum cannot be a substitute for Presidential election and regardless of the result of the so-called referendum, no legitimacy will be conferred on General Pervez Musharraf to continue in power.” “That General Pervez Musharraf and his military junta shall be responsible and accountable for every penny of public money being spent on the contrived and bogus public meetings being held at various centres in Pakistan.” The resolution said the continuation of military rule in Pakistan is extremely harmful to the unity and solidarity of the country and general elections should be held forthwith in order to transfer power to the representatives of the people. The conference paid rich tributes to Justice (Retd) Tariq Mahmood of Balochistan High Court for resigning his offices on the principle that the Election Commission has no constitutional jurisdiction to hold referendum. The conference condemns those lawyers who have joined the military government despite collective opinion of the lawyer community that the present military government and referendum called by it are unconstitutional. The conference condemns in the strongest the violence against members of the Press in Faisalabad which “clearly manifests the dictatorial tendencies of the present military regime.”