Unlikely popular heroes of Pakistan's opposition: lawyers
Thousands of lawyers have taken to the streets to protest Musharraf's controversial dismissal of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
from the June 11, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Since March 9, lawyers have led rallies to coincide with every hearing on the chief justice's appeal, as well as one nationwide boycott of the courts each Thursday. Mr. Qasi of Karachi estimates he has held 46 rallies in 90 days, and that nationwide, lawyers are collectively losing $170,000 in income a day to support the protests. In Pakistan, the per capita income per day is about $2.60.
Qasi doesn't calculate how much money he has personally lost, but he does estimate that he works 18 to 20 hours a day and only eats one meal a week with his family. Shah of the Lahore Bar Association has dropped legal work entirely to focus on organizing rallies and mobilizing support, rising at 6:45 a.m. and returning home at 12:30 a.m.
Such dedication has won the hearts of many Pakistanis, partly because the lawyers are not part of any political movement – and therefore their sacrifice is seen to be selfless. Qasi says he recently went into a shop to buy a car mat, only to find that the owner would not allow him to pay. Judges, who normally sneer at lawyers, say Shah and others, have opened up their chambers to help lawyers organize protests.
"When people see me in the black coat [of a lawyer], they give me the thumbs up," Qasi says.
Standing beside a makeshift juice stand near the Lahore Fort, repairman Shakil Ahmed says the lawyers are "doing a good thing." But for him, the rallies are about much more than button-down Clark Kents finding their inner Superman. In a country where the military is perceived as acting as a law unto itself, the question of justice stirs people deeply – and the judiciary is seen as the last bulwark of fairness.
"If someone like me needs justice, [the court] is the only place I can go," Mr. Ahmed says, his tunic stained and dirty.
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