KARACHI - Chief Justice Sindh High Court, Justice Mushir Alam, on Tuesday said that disobedience to law was causing lawlessness in the society. The rule of law is the only way to protect the lives of the citizens, he expressed this while addressing a condolence meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) that was organised to condemn target killings of lawyers in the metropolis. The meeting was also attended by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and other high court judges and lawyers bars representatives. The CJ said that bench and bars were playing their vital rule to ensure providing justice to the masses, but unfortunately the lawyers were being targeted. Justice Mushir said that judiciary was working for the rule of law without any favouritism and it would never accept working under any threat. He said that courts gave judgements on merit whether they were acceptable for anyone or not. He said that the judiciary and the legal fraternity would continue their struggle for providing justice to the people without any fear. On the occasion, a fund has been established providing financial support to the families of deceased lawyers who lost their lives in incidents of target killings. President SHCBA Anwar Mansoor Khan, Secretary Abid Zubairi, Vice Chairman Sindh Bar Council Iftikhar Javid Kazi, President Karachi Bar Association Muhammad Aqil, President Malir District Bar Association Ashraf Sammo, and others also addressed the meeting. They strongly condemned the killing of the lawyers and urged the government to arrest the culprits behind. The government has been urged to address the serious issue of the target killing issue on non-political grounds. They criticised the government and law enforcers for their failure to provide security to the citizens and the lawyers, and said that incidents of such target killings was on the rise and but no serious step had been taken to tackle such situation. The general body of the SHCBA also adopted a resolution condemning the ongoing terrorism and the brutality in the country and called upon the government to take all steps to create harmony and peace. The SHCBA demanded of the government to provide sufficient security to the lawyers. On the other side, on the call of the lawyers bars, the legal fraternity completely boycotted court proceedings in the City Court, Malir District Court and other special courts in protest against the killing of twelve lawyers during the past seven months. The lawyers have been protesting against the killings since Saturday. The protesting lawyer leaders demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo moto notice of the killings. On May 12, 2007, at least 45 people were killed and dozens got injured when supporters of the then deposed chief justice fought with their rivals in a clash near Karachi airport and during the ensuing riots elsewhere in the city. In Karachi, lawyers boycotted court proceedings and hoisted black flags in courtrooms. Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court adjourned the hearing of the Sarfraz Shah murder case as the defence counsel submitted an adjournment application. When the matter came up for hearing before Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I the defence informed the court that the lawyers were observing a boycott of courts against the targeted killing of their colleagues. The court put off the matter till Wednesday.