KARACHI, Dec 3: The Sindh High Court Bar Association has urged the provincial governor to announce a date for the first session of the newly- elected Sindh Assembly by Thursday.
A resolution adopted by the new SHCBA managing committee at its first meeting on Monday and released to the press on Tuesday said the people of Sindh should not be denied the fruits of democracy and their representatives should be enabled to take oath and start discharging their responsibilities at the earliest. Democracy in a federation could be sustained only by safeguarding the integrity and dignity of “all its peoples in all its provinces.” A smooth and functional democracy must, therefore, be ensured at the provincial and grassroots level, the resolution demanded.
The association warned “the powers that-be” that the postponement of the scheduled Sindh Assembly session for an indefinite period to facilitate “horse-trading,” while other assemblies had become functional and elected heads of their provincial governments, posed a “grave threat to the concept of federal democracy.”
Another resolution passed by the SHCBA committee, which met under presidentship of Advocate Munir A. Malik, said the association would continue its struggle for the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution and against the Legal Framework Order. By reopening settled issues, the LFO “has generated a high level of uncertainty and undermined national stability and prosperity.”
It said the LFO sought to amend the constitution in a manner violative of its (the constitution’s) own provisions. The 1973 constitution represented a rare national consensus and should not be tinkered with. “It is the considered view of this association that the LFO is not an integral part of the constitution and that it should be placed before the parliament to determine its validity,” the resolution said.
It added that while the authorities claimed that the LFO had been promulgated after a national debate on its provisions, no sooner had the ink dried on it than it was quietly, unilaterally and arbitrarily amended to extend the retirement age of the members of superior judiciary. “The amendment undermines the independence and dignity of the superior judiciary,” the resolution said.
