Voices from Pakistan's 'long march'

Lawyers and political activists in Pakistan are taking part in a country-wide protest to demand the reinstatement of senior judges sacked by President Musharraf when he declared emergency rule in November.

They are travelling by car and bus to the capital Islamabad in what they have called a 'Long March'.

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MUHAMMAD WASEEM ELAHI, LAWYER, GUJRANWALA

I will be taking part in the march. I'm in Gujranwala city and many hundreds of us will join the marchers expected here on 12 June.

Supporters of the lawyers say it will be a 'historic' protest

People are preparing placards, posters, banners - all to meet the marchers when they arrive here. Today we met with business community leaders and we believe we have the full support of the public.

We hope civil society will widely participate in this protest.

Because of such support, we are hopeful that our struggle to revive true democracy will be successful. We need the restoration of the deposed judges urgently.

Obviously we have some fears - we may have to fight state aggression, we may have to face terrorism. This is a peaceful lawyers movement but who knows what could happen.

It's critical we make our voice heard. The land has shifted. As lawyers, as Pakistanis, we have been kidnapped, tortured, our legal system is in ruins. The nation has had to sacrifice a lot.

There isn't harmony between the two main political parties the PPP and the PML-N. It is not a joke. We are struggling for the rule of law.

This march will hopefully change things. Let's see.

SAAD AMIR, LAWYER, LAHORE

The march comes here tomorrow. There will be speeches at the high court. The turnout is expected to be big.

The day after tomorrow we will set out for Islamabad.

Without a judiciary you can have arbitrary and uncontrolled power, an executive doing exactly what they like

I really don't think this march is going to achieve much. It's a pressure tactic that doesn't seem to be working so far. It doesn't seem to be having an effect on anybody.

The People's Party says it is going to impeach Musharraf - I think that's a smokescreen to draw attention away from their failures.

They were democratically elected and their major promise was to restore the judiciary. They have done nothing.

I do feel slightly powerless. This whole experience has been like a rollercoaster with ups and downs. Everyone has their own agenda and skeletons in the closet.

As long as the PPP doesn't push for it, it simply won't happen.

But nevertheless this whole process has been a defining moment for Pakistan. It is the first time that anybody has really taken a stand against the establishment.

Without a judiciary you can have arbitrary and uncontrolled power, an executive doing exactly what they like.

That is a huge price to pay.

FARIS KASIM, NGO WORKER, HYDERABAD

Faris Kasim (second from left) and his friends on a break while taking part in the march

I was part of the 'long march'. We started out at Jinnah's mausoleum in Karachi where we heard many speeches and I left the convoy near Hyderabad.

It was very hot in the morning but a lot of people were around. There were political activists, speeches - the atmosphere was energetic and passionate.

I'm a member of a small group called People's Resistance. We are ordinary citizens who formed this group after the emergency rule last year.

Our motivation is that this is the first time something has happened in our land driven by civil society and not politicians.

The atmosphere has been great with lawyers, judges, journalists and common people alike gathering together.

The current government is avoiding the issue. We voted for them to tackle this precise issue and they have not done anything. They should be doing what the people want them to do and pass a parliamentary order to fix the problem.

So we are on the march - and this is a defining moment in the history of Pakistan.

SARDAR TARIQ HUSSAIN, LAWYER, RAWALPINDI

I am participating in this protest. We have just set up some tents in Rawalpindi ready to welcome the protesters who come from other districts.

We are arranging their residence and their food and we are expecting them on 12 June.

We are struggling and we are striving for the rule of law, for the restoration of democracy. The present government, the Pakistan People's Party, has messed with the nation.

They promised to restore the judges within 30 days. They didn't keep that promise.

We are disillusioned. This long march is for the reinstatement and restoration of the judiciary which worked well last year before Musharraf intervened.

I work as a lawyer and it has affected me. The court where I had to appear took on new judges who I believe were not impartial. They were picked by the president and they are still there.

Today I will be in the camps we have set up on the roadside, distributing leaflets, trying to show people why we are on this march.

I feel the people of this country are with us heart and soul.