ABA Rally Shows Solidarity With Pakistani Lawyers

Bar Association Offers Online Petition, Other Tools

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 14—An estimated 600 to 700 lawyers, most dressed in black, marched past the U.S. Supreme Court today to draw attention to their demand for an end to martial law in Pakistan, and to show their solidarity with Pakistani lawyers and judges targeted in the crackdown.

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The rally, organized by the American Bar Association, was one of dozens staged around the United States since Gen. Pervez Musharraf, president of Pakistan, suspended his nation’s constitution, arrested seven Supreme Court justices and detained thousands of Pakistani lawyers and judges.

“We have witnessed a brutal attack on the rule of law,” ABA President William H. Neukom said. “We are here because we cannot forget the images of hundreds of our brave colleagues assaulted in the streets, carried off in police trucks, and fenced in by barbed wire and concrete barricades.”

The ABA has called on Musharraf to restore Pakistan’s constitution, reinstate the Supreme Court justices who have been detained, and free Pakistani lawyers, judges and other civil leaders who have been wrongly arrested.

As part of the ABA’s efforts to raise awareness of the threat to the rule of law in Pakistan, an online informational toolkit titled "Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan" has been created. Included on this site is an online petition from the lawyers of America offering their support to the lawyers and citizens of Pakistan. Visitors to the site can sign the document electronically. The petition will then be presented to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Also on the site will be video interviews with many who took part in today’s march.

In addition, the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan toolkit will include audio and video coverage of the march in Washington, a section offering school classroom discussion topics on Pakistan and the rule of law, selected statements and resolutions from state and local bar associations around the country, a letter from the ABA to President Musharraf, and more.

Neukom said the systematic assault on Pakistan’s legal system was a threat to the rule of law in all nations.

He also said American lawyers were inspired by the bravery of their Pakistani counterparts and vowed that American lawyers would continue to press for full restoration of constitutional law in Pakistan.

“Pakistan’s lawyers refused to accept this,” Neukom said. “They headed to court knowing that instead of meeting their clients, they would meet policemen with batons and tear gas. …Today, we will walk to court to show our colleagues in Pakistan that we share their commitment to justice. We will show them that they do not stand alone.”

With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Source: ABA