I am fortunate to be under house arrest, while my colleagues are suffering. The Musharraf government has declared martial law to settle scores with lawyers and judges. While the terrorists remain on the loose and continue to occupy more space in Pakistan, senior lawyers are being tortured....

In particular, the cases of Muneer A Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan, Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd are serious. Mr Malik, the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and leader of the lawyers' movement, has been shifted to the notorious Attack Fort. He is being tortured and is under the custody of military intelligence. Tariq Mahmood, another former president of the Association, was imprisoned in Adiala jail. No one was allowed to see him and it is reported that he has been shifted to an unknown place. Mr Kurd, former vice chair of the Pakistan Bar Council, is in the custody of military intelligence and is being kept at an undisclosed place. Mr Ahsan is being kept in Adiayala jail in solitary confinement.