About 300-400 people responded to the call of Students Action Committee and gathered at Liberty Chowk today at 2:30 pm to protest against the imposition of Emergency and the promulgation of the PCO.
The following video captures the students forming a chain holding placards around the liberty round-about and then chanting slogans…

[HandChain&Rally] - Students Action Committee Mass Protest at Liberty, Lahore - 30Nov07 - [http://ale-xpressed.blogspot.com] from formanite10 on Vimeo.

Students and teachers from PU, LUMS, FAST, UET, BNU, NCA, SKANS, FC, UCL, LSE, LGS (to name a few) participated in the protest. IT professionals from Systems, SSI, Techlogix, TRG, Mobilink, Pi Sigma, GeoPaq, Confiz Solutions and CambridgeDocs; lawyers and social activists also joined the students. LHCBA vice-president Firdous Butt, Justice (retd.) Nasira Iqbal, Sartaj from HRCP were among the noteworthy protestors.A large number of local and foreign media personnel were also present.The students had started gathering outside Salt n Pepper as early as 1:00 pm slightly surprised to find a small contingent of police already deployed there and plain-clothed police scattered around the restaurant. Yet within half an hour, the police outnumbered the protestors as security forces kept pouring in. Later, a bus full of lady police and a prison van also arrived. The protestors gradually moved away from the restaurant and converged in the Chowk (Bank Alfalah Square).

At about 2:15 pm, the protestors were told by the SSP that they had already violated Section 144 and that they must disperse in 10 minutes. The police order was announced by a student leader but protestors refused to disperse and instead lined the perimeter of the round about. They were holding placards carrying slogans like PCO Namanzoor, Aamriat Murdabad, Go Musharraf Go, Adlia kee azadi tak, jang rahay gee, jang rahay gee etc. Protestors were mostly greeted by the passers-by, and several of them showed V sign to the protestors.

After about 20 minutes, the chain formed a rally that marched around the square waving the national flag and chanting slogans against Musharraf and his imposition of martial law. The protestors then settled down and a few students addressed the rally. They thanked the students, faculty members and social activists for their participation and vowed to keep fighting for the reinstatement of the judges and the supremacy of law in the country. After these speeches, the crowd recited national anthem and dispersed peacefully.

Further protests by lawyers and social activists are scheduled for 4th and 10th of December.

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Tags: Emergency, Liberty, Musharraf, PCO, Protest, Students Action Committee