Lawyers ask govt to sever ties with France, convene OIC moot

PESHAWAR: Asking the government to sever ties with France and Denmark, the lawyer community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday asked the prime minister to convene a meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for proposing amendments to the UN charter to ban publication of sacrilegious caricatures.
In a unanimous resolution passed at a joint meeting of Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) and Peshawar Bar Association at PHC Bar, the lawyers also demanded the federal government to end diplomatic relations with Denmark and France.
The lawyer community also asked the government to immediately expel French and Danish ambassadors from Pakistan as a mark of protest. On the call of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, the lawyer community observed a complete boycott of courts across the province in protest against the publication of blasphemous caricatures in France.
Led by PHCBA president Muhammad Essa Khan, general secretary Muhammad Ayaz and Peshawar Bar Association president Razaullah Khan Khalil, the lawyers also staged a protest and chanted slogans against France, Denmark and enemies of Islam. The lawyers demonstration started from the PHC’s entrance gate and culminated at the Peshawar Central Prison.
Earlier, in his address to the protest meeting PHCBA president Muhammad Essa Khan asked the federal government to take up the matter with the French government. He also demanded the government to end diplomatic ties with France and Denmark. PHCBA general secretary Muhammad Ayaz and others also addressed the meeting.