The decision to delay "long march" has been taken after the controversy erupted the issue that it was too early to launch a long march and the parliament in waiting should be given appropriate time to resolve judges' issue.
The lawyers throughout the country now would observe a Black Day on March 9 when the CJP was first suspended and lawyers have launched their relentless ongoing movement.
The SCBA's Media Advisor Muhammad Azhar Siddiqui said the long march has been delayed unless the new parliamentarians sworn in and the new government is formed. Then the new government would be given at least 15 days time to reinstate judges and then a new date would be announced for long march.
In a letter written to bar associations, Aitzaz said, "lawyers do intend to give Parliament time to restore the judiciary, but with General Musharraf continuing in power and opposing the restoration of judges, parliament needs our ultimatums as a back-up."
"Our Chief Justice remains under arrest for four months with his children while we are being lectured on statesmanship. He has not surrendered. Nor will the lawyers."
It is thus that the lawyers stand by our call to launch our long march on March 9. The lawyers' purpose in giving that date is to give our political parties the required backing that they may need to resist pressure to give up on restoration of judiciary. The lawyers will, however, accommodate any genuine need to readjust to a different schedule.
The lawyers trust and respect political parties. But they do not trust General Musharraf. Given the humiliation of his party, General Musharraf should have quit. With his exit, the lawyers' suspicion and impatience would also have disappeared and greater adjustments made possible.
Aitzaz Ahsan also asked lawyers to remain united because last week the regime's agencies began to work on a plan to divide the lawyers' movement. The best way to do that was to discredit and malign the name of the Bar leadership.
He also took lawyers in confidence on the issues being raised.
"I became counsel for the Chief Justice, later of former justice Wajihuddin and a candidate for president SCBA at the request of the heroes of the lawyers' movement Munir A. Malik, Ali Kurd, Tariq Mehmood and other senior counsel. There was no conspiracy or ulterior motive. On the first day of my term, I was arrested. So were the 60 judges". But what is now evident is that the Chief Justice and judges cannot be detained indefinitely.
The day they are out, they will come to the lawyers in the more than 100 Bar Associations of the country. People will greet them throughout their journeys. I will be with them. Therefore there is an urgency in the government campaign to divide legal fraternity. However, the trust you have reposed in me is a burden that I intend to carry to the end.
Lawyers have been beaten, bludgeoned, tear gassed, fired at, burnt, bombed, killed and arrested. It was their movement that opened up space for our national parties to obtain power. The lawyers will, therefore, be only too happy if parliament exercises its sovereign authority. But a sovereign parliament cannot be constructed on the debris of an independent judiciary.
Yet the lawyers will strongly resist any move by Musharraf to invoke Article 58(2)(b) of the constitution. The legal community will defend this parliament with all their energies.
Lastly, he thanked and appreciated lawyers for their continued support to him and his colleagues in these very difficult times. He said, "the lawyers have stood by me despite the propaganda and disinformation of the supporters of the regime. "Your movement is not going to disintegrate. All rumours in this regard are false", he said.
Aitzaz said, "the single object before me is only and only to have our independent judges restored. If the lawyers are able to achieve that end, it would be one of the most remarkable achievements in history. "I therefore call upon you to beware conspiracies to create divisions within the lawyers' movement and to malign the name of bar leadership", he concluded.