November 21, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 15, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Nov 20: The Peshawar High Court Bar Association here on Wednesday condemned the taking of the oath by Gen Pervaiz Musharraf for becoming the President of Pakistan and termed it unconstitutional and illegal.

A meeting of the association, presided over by its president Asadullah Khan Chamkani, unanimously adopted various resolutions through which they condemned the recent amendments in the Anti- Terrorism Act, 1997, and execution of Mir Aimal Kasi in the US. The meeting also offered fateha for the departed soul of Kasi.

The Bar members unanimously resolved that the lawyers community would continue their struggle against the unconsti- tutional rule of Gen Musharraf and would oppose all the oppressive steps taken by the regime including amendments in the ATA. The meeting was addressed by senior members including Barrister Baachaa and Khan Bahadur Khan.

Through a resolution the meeting declared the oath taken by Gen Musharraf against the Constitution and in violation of the mandate assigned to him by the Supreme Court in Zaffar Ali Shah case. The participants believed that the Supreme Court had not empowered Gen Musharraf to become president of the country by adopting an unconstitutional route.

The members said that there was a specific provision in the Constitution regarding election of the president and if Gen Musharraf was so fond of becoming the president he should adopt that procedure.

The association also endorsed all the resolutions passed by the Supreme Court Bar Association in its meeting on Oct 16 including condemnation of the Legal Framework Order and enhancing the retirement age of the judges of the superior courts.

The meeting condemned the amendments in the ATA, stating that keeping a person in detention for an year without a trial was unconstitutional and would be misused by the government and state agencies including the police. The Bar members believed that these amendments were aimed at appeasing the US government as Pakistan is a part of the so-called US war against terror.

They added that the government had been curtailing civil liberties through oppressive laws like the recent amendments in the ATA which would also be used for persecution of political adversaries. They added that these amendments were violative to Article 10 of the Constitution.

The speakers criticized the government for reviving the Constitution and keeping the floor-crossing provision in abeyance. They said that the reason behind keeping that provision suspended was obvious as the government had been encouraging horse trading.

The association condemned the execution of Aimal KAsi in US, stating that shifting him from Pakistan to the US in 1997 was illegal and against the law. The speakers said that there was no extradition treaty between Pakistan and the US. They said that the treaty, which the government claimed existed between the two states, was in fact signed by the British and US governments before partition and that was not applicable to Pakistan now.