A complete strike was observed by lawyers throughout the country to condemn Friday’s ouster of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Pakistan Bar Council President Qazi Anwar told AFP.

Lawyers also staged rallies in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, and other urban centres, witnesses said.

Anwar said lawyers would observe a token one hour strike daily from Thursday until the reinstatement of justice Chaudhry, while two lawyers at every bar in the country would observe a day-long hunger strike.

“We will end the strike and protests the moment Musharraf withdraws the decision and admits he made a mistake. The sooner he realises it the better it would be for him,” Anwar said.

Hundreds of lawyers staged rowdy protests outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad on Tuesday when a judicial panel began hearing charges of misconduct laid against Chaudhry. The next hearing is on Friday.