Dozens fall unconscious due to gas shelling amid lawyers black flag week march
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—Dozens of lawyers and civil societies members on Sunday fainted and unconscious due to tear gas shelling amid lawyers ‘black flag week’ march here on Sunday.
According to details, the lawyer’s fraternity throughout Pakistan including Rawalpindi and Islamabad have started ‘Black Flag Week’ on the completion of the one year of period to the movement of the Independence of Judiciary. Hundreds of lawyers, civil societies members and members of the political parties took rallies in order to show sympathy with the ousted judges and marched towards the judges colony.
The police fired tear gas shell on the peaceful rally of the lawyers due to which hundreds of the protestors fainted and fell unconscious. The lawyers community, workers of the political parties and civil societies members have observed ‘Black Flag Week’ on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association. A rally marched from the residence of the President Supreme Court Bar Association, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan to the residence of the ousted CJP, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The participants of the rally chanted anti-government slogans. When the rally reached at Balochistan house, the protestors tried to remove the barbwire. As a result police fired tear gas shell. Several people including women and children fell fainted. While talking to the protestors, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan has demanded independence of judiciary. He demanded from the President to quit his office and restored all the ousted judges.
He termed the ousted CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the hero of Nation and said that entire Pakistani nations stood with him. Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood has said that they want to spare some time to the newly elected parliament for the reinstatement of the judges.
President Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association, Sardar Asmatullah, Athar Manullah and other lawyers have also addressed the rally. Agencies Add: The alliance of progressive political workers and intellectuals, Awami Jamhoori Ittehad (AJI) has announced its programme of protest for the Black Flag Week.
Convenor of the alliance Jamil Abbasi has said that many skeptics were predicting that the movement to depose Pervez Musharraf and for the restoration of the pre- November 3 judiciary would have waned in the aftermath of the February 18 election, but instead the movement has been energized by the anti- establishment vote of the people.
The meeting was attended, among others, by senators Ch.Muhammad Anwar Bhinder, Farooq Hamid Naek and Kamran Murtaza.