[JURIST] A Pakistani lawyers group Sunday announced a campaign to defeat an expected reelection bid by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile]. Speaking at a conference of the National Action Committee in Islamabad, Pakistani Supreme Court Bar Association president Munir Malik outlined the group's goal to secure Musharraf's resignation and to restore the 1973 Constitution [text]. Protest rallies set for September 6, already observed nationwide as Defense of Pakistan Day, will mark the beginning of what he called "phase 2" of the lawyers' campaign for nationwide legal reform. Dawn has local coverage.

Earlier this year, Pakistani lawyers led a four-month campaign to reinstate suspended Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] after Musharraf suspended him in March for alleged judicial misconduct. Many lawyers and opposition leaders alleged that the suspension was an indirect bid by Musharraf to forestall any legal challenges if Musharraf sought to extend his eight-year rule by another five years later this year. Chaudhry was reinstated in July, with all charges of misconduct [JURIST reports] dismissed.