MULTAN - The participants of a lawyers convention on Thursday unanimously demanded Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to vacate his office, saying he not only made mockery of Supreme Court but also refused to accept the rule of law.

The All Pakistan Lawyers Convention was organised by High Court Bar Association Multan (HCBAM) and the representatives of lawyers from across the country participated in it.
Through unanimously adopted resolutions, the participants of the convention announced to launch a country-wide movement to remove Gilani from Prime Minister office. "The lawyers will besiege the National Assembly for this purpose," the resolution added.
Speaking on the occasion, member Pakistan Bar Hamid Khan, president of HCBAM Mahmood Ashraf Khan and others said that the speaker of National Assembly exploited her seat for the fulfilment of her personal goals and thus she committed contempt of court.
They added that the speaker was not an appellate authority for any Supreme Court verdict and thus she violated constitution by rejecting the court verdict.
They warned that the act of the speaker would prove fatal for the independence of judiciary and rule of law in the country. They claimed that Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had lost his both offices including parliament membership and prime minister post. "The lawyers across the country stand united for rule of law and for the protection of independence of judiciary. Refusal to accept court orders is not only violation of constitution but also a threat to the judicial system," they added.
They lashed out at the government and said that the government completely failed to fulfil its democratic responsibilities as lawlessness, terrorism, poverty and nepotism were rampant in the country. They added that the statement of prime minister in which he said that the martyrs of Salala would not return even if Americans apologized was shameful. They said that the rulers jeopardized both ideological and geographical boundaries of the country and it was high time to get rid of them.
Recounting the ordeals of May 12 and April 9, the speakers paid glowing tributes to the lawyers who lost their lives or got injured. Expressing strong concern on poor performance of police, they said that the accused involved in killing of lawyers were still at large. They stressed upon the government to immediately arrest the accused and punish them.
Referring to missing persons case, they said that the commission on missing persons of Balochistan was just a drama being staged by the government and president of supreme court bar to befool the public. They held government responsible for the disappearance of all persons and asked the rulers to put a leash on secret agencies. "The only way to stop this blood and fire play is to recover all missing persons and stop new incidents otherwise the country will face another East Pakistan debacle," they warned.
They greeted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and higher judiciary for giving brave decisions against corrupt influential. "By convicting a sitting prime minister, the Chief Justice has proved for the first time in the history of this country that all are equal in the eye of law," they added.
Later on, the lawyers brought out a rally and staged a sit-in outside Prime Minister House. They shouted slogans like: "Go Gilani Go." The participants of the rally told the journalists that the lawyers started their march towards a destination and they would not stop until the goal of removing Yousuf Raza from Islamabad was achieved.
Crackdown on profiteers ordered: DCO Zahid Akhtar Zaman has issued orders for launching of massive crackdown on profiteers, hoarders and adulterators here on Thursday. The DCO asked price control magistrates to conduct raids on daily basis and submit report on daily basis. He said that those selling daily use items on higher prices deserved strict action. He further asked the concerned officials to direct shopkeepers to display price list at a visible place.
Section 144 imposed : Meanwhile, the DCO has imposed section 144 in and around all examination centres of Allama Iqbal Open University. The 100 meter radius area of all examination centres will be under 144. Similarly, there will be a strict ban on bringing books, irrelevant goods and arms to the examination centre while the examiners are given first class magistrate powers to control booti mafia and protect examination staff from harassment.