LAHORE - The lawyers' leadership has warned the government against using force to prevent 'long march' and subsequent sit-in, vowing that they are ready to defy all restrictions including imposition of section 144. "We are a peaceful community and would remain peaceful unless the government resorted to use of force", said LHC Bar Association President MA Shahid Siddiqui in joint press conference with representatives and office bearers of Lahore Bar Association, Supreme Court Bar Association, traders and doctors. Siddiqui said lawyers were not afraid of arrests and such tactics would not refrain them from participating in the planned march. He said imposition of section 144 had made it clear that rulers were frightened from lawyers' organised movement which had now become a movement for country's survival. He said the rulers had no moral or legal grounds to impose section 144 aiming at crushing their movement. He said lawyers would take their struggle its logical end at any cost and face state tyranny with courage and perseverance. He dispelled the impression that a political party had hijacked lawyers' movement saying, "it was launched by the lawyers while the political parties are supporting it". Siddiqui appealed to the people for taking part in the long march to make it a success. He accused PPP government of becoming a protector of Musharraf's November 3, 2007 unconstitutional steps and vowed that lawyers would not end their movement till the annulment of these actions. He claimed that the PPP had put the country on the path of violence. He said the PPP had abandoned the practice of taking stock of people's feelings rather it had started crushing them. He said if the lawyers were arrested they would not challenge them before PCO judges. Responding to a question, member Pakistan Bar Council Hamid Khan said a contingency plan had been chalked out in case of arrest of lawyers' top leadership. He, however, declined to divulge the plan saying it was a secret and could not be made public. He also made it clear that the sit-in would be held at Constitutional Avenue and offer of alternative place would not be accepted. President Pakistan Medical Association Dr Sarwar and traders' leader were also present in the press conference and extended their support to long march.