March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 19: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Hamid Khan said on Wednesday that parliament had been formed by virtue of Supreme Court judgment and elections were held under the Conduct of General Elections Order and not the Legal Framework Order.

He said at a press conference that a wrong impression was being created that if the LFO was not accepted, the return to civilian rule would be reversed.

The LFO was a package of constitutional amendments which a military ruler introduced to strengthen his position against parliament and the prime minister and the elections were not held under it, he said.

The LFO, he said, was promulgated on Nov 15, 2002, when the elections had been held. Hamid Khan said revival of the Constitution and holding of election was mandatory under the Supreme Court judgment.

He said the lawyers were struggling for the restoration of the Constitution as it was before Oct 12, 1999, and they believed that the Supreme Court had no authority to vest legislative powers in the military ruler.

He said the so-called legislative power was given to the military ruler by the Supreme Court when it had “ceased to be an independent institution.”

He said independent judges had left the institution as they refused to swear allegiance to the military ruler’s decrees.

The SCBA president said if the judges returned the “dubious gift” of three years extension in their retirement age, the bar would reconsider its decision of not raising any matter of constitutional importance before the courts. He said if the extension was not accepted, the bar would consider it a step towards the revival of independence of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court’s short order on the LFO petition was different from the detailed Judgment released after a month, he said.

In the short order, the SCBA president said, the court did not give its view about the consequences of the referendum, but when the detailed judgment was released, it observed that holding of the referendum was a recognized democratic exercise. The detailed order negated the short order passed by the same bench, he claimed.

He said the bar would soon release a white paper about the judiciary.

He expressed his hope that time would come when those who abrogated the Constitution and those who connived with them would be tried for treason.