July 4, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 3,1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 3: The lawyers bodies are dismayed at the decision of Justice Munir A. Sheikh to avail of three-year extension in the retirement age under the LFO, the SCBA president said on Thursday.

Hamid Khan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said that he, along with Kazim Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council executive committee, and Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari, president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, went personally to deliver a letter asking him not to avail of the extension.

Justice Munir A. Sheikh has accepted the extension in the retirement age, ending the speculations that he would become the first judge to refuse the facility offered to judges by the military government.

“Lawyers are disappointed at his decision. He should have set an example. He will lose his credibility which he made in his sixteen-year career as a judge,” said Hamid Khan.

The SCBA chief said that during their meeting, Justice Munir A. Sheikh had tried to justify his decision by arguing that good persons should not vacate the seats. He also gave the example of Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui who had left the judiciary after refusing to take oath under the PCO.

“To us, he is a retired judge and we are sorry that whatever goodwill he enjoyed, he will lose it now.”

The letter said that in the light of Supreme Court judgment in Al Jehad case, commonly known as Judges Case, “we consider you the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan. We have profound respect for your integrity, learning and a sense of fair play. We recognize that you have been unfairly superseded and understand that this is so because the powers that be, are afraid of your independence.”

“We, the undersigned, therefore request you to rise once more and to lay down your robes on attaining the age of 65 years as enshrined in the Constitution of 1973 in its unadulterated form.”

Justice Munir A. Sheikh is the sixth judge who, having reached the constitutional age of superannuation, decided to enjoy the extension granted by the military ruler on Oct 9, 2002.