LAHORE - Without Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N on Monday observed November 3 as 'Black Day' by taking out rally to express solidarity with the lawyers' movement for the restoration of the pre-November 3 judiciary led by Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. They termed November 3 as one of the blackest days, when a military dictator imposed emergency and sacked 60 judges PML-N chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shaif and President Shahbaz Sharif were likely to address the rally but the plan was dropped due to security concerns. The rally taken out from Nasir Bagh to the GPO chowk had thin attendance in the beginning but strength of participants grew later on. The MPAs and MNAs leading groups of workers of their respective constituencies kept merging into the main gathering before the departure of rally. PML-N Labour Wing including Lahore president Shahzad Anwar and UC-87 president Samiuddin also joined the rally participated by a number of labor unions. Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa who was leading the rally along with other leaders including Hamza Shahbaz, Tehmina Doltana, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Marghoob Ahmed, Capt (r) Safdar Ali, Zayeem Qadri to mark the black day in a big way. Heightened security-cover with high-surveillance reinforcement by security personnel in plain clothes were witnessed throughout the departure and culmination of rally. The participants of rally were holding up banners and placards bearing slogans "restoration of judges, independence of parliament and punishment to Musharraf for destroying the constitution. Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa addressing on the occasion said that the PML-N was marking the November 3 as blackest day against Musharraf's step to promulgate emergency on November 3, 2007, sacked around 60 judges including those restored by the Supreme Court on July 20. He said that the nation saw its fundamental human rights suspended under the constitution by a controversial president. "The emergency was imposed only to depose Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his colleagues who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO)," he added. Tehmina Doltan said PML-N would never compromise on the judges' issues and would continue to back the lawyers' movement. She said that President Asif Zardari had a chance to win the hearts of people by restoring the judges according to the Murree Declaration signed with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. But he squandered the chance showing indifference to the struggle of lawyers, she added. She said that party leaders and workers were jailed during the movement for the restoration of judges. "We won the elections by promising the people that judges will be restored but the PPP-led government betrayed," she maintained. Hamza Shahbaz said that former president Pervez Musharraf declared 'martial law' on November 3 only to save his rule. He said that the February 18 elections proved to be a referendum against dictatorship. He regretted that the PPP-led government had not only failed to resolve the crisis, but had deepened it. Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that lawyers' movement backed by political parties with PML-N leading the way was the main catalyst to mobilise the nation for the cause of independence of the judiciary. He said that it was the first movement joined by civil society organisations and the general public at large. He said that the controversial 17th Constitutional Amendment introduced by the former president was still hanging like a sword on the elected parliament. He said that he was confident that all the crises could disappear if the judiciary was restored to its November 2 position and the 17th Amendment repealed in light of the Charter of Democracy (CoD). Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar said that the PML-N, which won a large chunk of seats in the elections, had to leave the coalition government because the PPP refused to restore the deposed Chief Justice. Mian Marghoob Ahmed said that despite the fact that late Benazir Bhutto had vowed to restore Justice Chaudhry, nothing had been done even after a whole year had passed.