SCBA urges restraint as PDM gears up for sit-in.

ISLAMABAD -- As the ruling coalition goes ahead with its plan to stage a sit-in against the judiciary for allegedly favouring PTI chief Imran Khan, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has urged political parties to refrain from such a move.

And to pre-empt any untoward incident, the Supreme Court's registrar, Ishrat Ali, on Saturday called a meeting of the Islamabad administration and police for a briefing on security arrangements.

The protest was announced by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur RehAman, who also heads the PakAistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance, on Friday. The sit-in has been planned at Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, outside the Supreme Court building, on Monday, when the top court is set to start hearing an Election Commission's petition seeking to revisit its verdict on the Punjab polls date.

The PML-N has announced that its chief organiser, MarAyam Nawaz, has already arriAved in Islamabad to take part in the sit-in.

In a statement, SCBA PresiAdent Abid S. Zuberi and SecrAeAtary Muqtedir Akhtar ShabAbir requested the ruling political parties not to hold the proAtest or take action that may undermine the integrity and functioning of the judiciary.

They also called upon the political stakeholders to reduce the political temperature in the best interest of the country's progress.

The statement said the bar stood with the rule of law, supremacy of the Constitution and the independence of judiciary and had extended their unwavering support and solidarity in protecting the Supreme Court against the announced protest on Monday by political parties.

The statement also expressed their strong disapproval of any attempt to undermine the sanctity and integrity of the apex court.

It said that violence in any form would be in violation of law and would amount to a thrAeat to peace and public order, especially when Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure - an emergency law that prohibits gatherings - and Article 245 of the Constitution, under which the army is called in to help the civil administration, had already been invoked in the federal capital.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon the federal government, law enforcement agencies and its relevant subsidiaries to make foolproof security arrangements to ensure the safety and protection of the Supreme Court, it said.

It said the SCBA was deeply committed to upholding the Constitution, the principles of the rule of law and the integrity of judicial institutions. 'While we...