Pakistan: Lawyers Heavily Repressed for Supporting the Rule of Law
Update: Lawyers in New York are rallying to show their support to their Pakistani colleagues. The rally will take place in front of the New York County Courthouse next Tuesday, November 13 at 60 Centre Street from 1:00-1:30 p.m. and was organized by the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyers’ Association, in conjunction with other organizations.
The Vance Center is concerned about the recent repressive measures taken by the Pakistani government against Pakistani lawyers and judges. Although it is currently difficult to get accurate information due to the state of emergency and the disruption of independent sources of information, the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of the Supreme Court has led to protests by lawyers throughout the country who have consequently been imprisoned by the hundreds. A good source of information on what is happening in Pakistan is Global Voices.
The clashes between lawyers and the government have been recurrent since general Musharraf suspended the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in the spring (see previous posting on GNJI). At this critical time, it is important that lawyers around the world express their support of their colleagues in Pakistan who are taking a significant risk in supporting constitutional democracy and rule of law in their country. We encourage lawyers and bar associations to take concrete actions such as contacting the Pakistani Embassy in their countries to express their support. A reference to the letter that New York City Bar sent to President Musharraf can be found here.
Photo AP Press
