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At present the component parties <strong>of</strong> the Alliance for the Restoration <strong>of</strong> Democracy and Muttahida<br />
Majlis-i-Amal were working for the supremacy <strong>of</strong> law and judiciary, he added.<br />
PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Salim Zia, Sardar Rahim; ARD leaders Rashid Rabbani, Basharat Mirza<br />
and others were also present on the occasion.<br />
***<br />
The News 10 May (b)<br />
Karachi tense ahead <strong>of</strong> May 12 rallies<br />
By Tahir Hasan Khan<br />
KARACHI: Tension is fast rising in Karachi following the announcement by the ruling MQM and the<br />
opposition ARD and MMA that they would take out “historic” rallies on the arrival <strong>of</strong> the Chief Justice <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Pakistan</strong> Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the city on May 12, 2007. Meanwhile, lawyers are seeking a<br />
bulletpro<strong>of</strong> car for the Chief Justice.<br />
Political analysts say that the two rallies could result in a clash despite a strong declaration by the<br />
MQM that its rally would be peaceful. The MQM leadership says that the purpose <strong>of</strong> its rally is to show the<br />
party’s strength against the opposition.<br />
When contacted, the MQM leaders said that the party would announce its route and plan <strong>of</strong> the rally<br />
on Thursday. Sources said that a meeting <strong>of</strong> the party leaders and workers was going on at Nine Zero till late<br />
Wednesday night, the strategy for the rally under discussion.<br />
The provincial administration is working to maintain the law and order situation. Sindh Governor Dr<br />
Ishratul Ebad held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the law and order situation in view <strong>of</strong> the<br />
arrival <strong>of</strong> the Chief Justice <strong>of</strong> <strong>Pakistan</strong> in Karachi on 12 May and rallies <strong>of</strong> political parties with divergent points<br />
<strong>of</strong> view.<br />
Sindh Home Secretary Brig (Retd) Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem has written a letter to the Supreme<br />
Court, requesting the Chief Justice <strong>of</strong> <strong>Pakistan</strong> to postpone his Karachi visit as the situation is not suitable for<br />
the visit, which is not in the larger public interest. The Home Secretary has conveyed to the SC Registrar: “It is<br />
foreseen that the planned caravan <strong>of</strong> the Honourable Chief Justice <strong>of</strong> Supreme Court from Karachi airport to<br />
different venues in the town could be stopped by political elements and in ensuing melee, the person and thus<br />
the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> the honourable CJP might be slighted.”<br />
The letter by the Home Secretary, who is in Islamabad, follows MQM’s plans to bring out a rally to<br />
counter the rallies to be brought out by the ARD, MMA and lawyers. The Adviser to the CM, Waseem Akhtar,<br />
who belongs to the MQM, is the in-charge <strong>of</strong> the Home department.<br />
HRCP<br />
The Chief Secretary, Sindh, Shakil Durrani, has also issued an order to all DCOs <strong>of</strong> the province and<br />
departmental secretaries not to leave their stations. The police have also issued warning <strong>of</strong> a terrorist threat.<br />
The opposition has advised the MQM to change its plan and hold the rally either before or after the<br />
departure <strong>of</strong> the chief justice. The ARD Secretary General, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, has expressed concerns over the<br />
decision <strong>of</strong> the MQM to hold its rally on Saturday and requested the party to change its date to avoid any<br />
disturbance.<br />
He alleged that General Pervez Musharraf is looking at excuses to impose emergency in the country<br />
and the MQM might provide him the opportunity. The MMA has announced that Liaquat Baloch would lead its<br />
rally, and would distribute one million handbills among the people so as to motivate them to participate in the<br />
rally.<br />
The MMA has also announced that schoolchildren would present bouquets to the Chief Justice at the<br />
Quaid’s Mazar as a show <strong>of</strong> solidarity. Meanwhile, the city lawyers are trying to arrange a bulletpro<strong>of</strong> car for the<br />
chief justice. Sources said that a businessman has promised to provide the car after the Sindh government<br />
refused to lend any <strong>of</strong> the bulletpro<strong>of</strong> cars being used by the Sindh Governor and the Chief Minister. The Bar<br />
has also planned to deploy 300 lawyers for the security <strong>of</strong> the CJP on his arrival.<br />
The situation has worried the people, including traders and the business community, parents and<br />
teachers especially as the annual exams have started in the city’s educational institutions. M Waqar Bhatti<br />
adds: Sindh Home Secretary Brig (retd) Ghulam Muhammad Mohtaram has sought the postponement <strong>of</strong> Chief<br />
Justice <strong>of</strong> <strong>Pakistan</strong> Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s planned visit to Karachi on May 12 to a new convenient<br />
date, claiming there were reports <strong>of</strong> possibility <strong>of</strong> “armed clashes and bloodshed” in Karachi on his arrival.<br />
The CJ is expected to be accorded a warm welcome by the legal fraternity, opposition political parties<br />
and common people on his arrival in Karachi and is likely to be taken to Malir Judicial Complex and then the<br />
mausoleum <strong>of</strong> Quaid-i-Azam in the form <strong>of</strong> a mammoth rally.<br />
He was accorded a historic welcome by hundreds <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> people from Islamabad to Lahore<br />
during his over 24-hour road journey on the Grand Trunk (GT) Road on May 5 that caused ringing <strong>of</strong> alarm<br />
bells in the rank and <strong>file</strong> <strong>of</strong> the government.<br />
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