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| June 26, 2003 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 25,1424 |
SCBA to join MMA’s march on Parliament House
ISLAMABAD, June 25: The Supreme Court Bar Association president, Hamid Khan, on Wednesday said the bar would join the protest demonstration organized by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal against the controversial Legal Framework Order, outside the Parliament and Supreme Court building.
It would be the first protest demonstration of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, being planned in front of the Supreme Court, which would also be participated by the apex bodies of the lawyers.
Talking to this agency, Mr Khan said the lawyers would also participate in the planned protest march of the MMA from Parliament House to Supreme Court building, to make an appeal to the judges not to accept the three-year extension in their retirement age.
He termed the Legal Framework Order an illegal, controversial and supra- constitutional document introduced by General Musharraf and vowed to continue struggle till the withdrawal or validation of the controversial document.
Rejecting the ruling of National Assembly Speaker that the LFO was part of the Constitution, Mr Khan said the speaker had no legal as well as constitutional status to deliver such rulings.
He contended that the speaker had shown his partiality towards the treasury by giving such ruling on the LFO and termed it against the parliamentary traditions.
Mr Khan said political institutions, political parties and bar associations had rejected the ruling, as they were not bound to accept it and pledged that the legal fraternity would continue its ongoing anti-LFO struggle till its withdrawal or validation.
He warned that military intervention and increasing polarization would further deepen the ongoing crisis, adding that the increasing military intervention may lead to anarchy.
Powers to make and amend the constitution are discretion of the Parliament alone and “neither GHQ, nor Supreme Court can exercise such discretionary powers of the sovereign Parliament”, he maintained.
He asked the government to give up its “rigid” stance and withdraw or table the LFO in the Parliament to decide its fate within the parameters of the constitutional guarantees.
Answering a query regarding sealing of SBCA offices housed in the SC building, he contended that the SC administration led by Chief Justice of Pakistan had expressed its confusion by sealing the bar offices.
He strongly condemned the SC administration’s act of sealing the SCBA and library and said no movement could be buried by using state machinery and official power.
He said under the Constitution, the CJ has retired on March 8, but was illegally holding the more dignified office of the Chief Justice.—PPI
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