Lawyers in Pakistan's Punjab province have boycotted the courts for a day to protest against the government's decision to have army officers sitting in its anti-terrorist courts.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association said the response to its strike call was overwhelming.

On Thursday, a court in Pakistan agreed to hear a petition challenging the legality of the decision by President Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup in 1999.

The petition was brought by the Baluchistan Bar Council, which accused the government of interfering with the judicial system.

It cited a previous ruling that the use of military courts to try cases of terrorism was both illegal and unconstitutional.

Last week, Pakistan's military government changed the law regarding its three-member anti-terrorism courts to allow an army officer to sit on the panel, saying that existing courts were too slow.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service