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| October 27, 2003 | Monday | Sha’aban 30, 1424 |
SCBA struggle to continue: Court order questioned
LAHORE, Oct 26: The newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Justice Tariq Mahmood (retired), has said the lawyers’ movement for a democratic rule and resolution of their problems are equally important for him.
“The movement is very important and will continue. But an immediate and serious problem has arisen from the recent Supreme Court order aimed at discouraging the adjournment tendency,” the SCBA president told Dawn on Sunday.
Tariq Mahmood who hails from Quetta, resigned from the post of a member of the Election Commission of Pakistan and ultimately as a judge of Balochistan High Court on the issue of the referendum.
He was elected as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association by securing 763 of the 1,050 votes which were polled out of a total of 1,317 in the election held on Saturday. He got a majority from all the cities where the polling was held. Farooq Zaman Qureshi from Lahore has been elected as the secretary.
Mr Mahmood said a major feature of the Supreme Court decision was that 100 cases’ two cause lists would be decided every day.
“This is bound to add to the lawyers’ difficulties, particularly those who come from Karachi, Quetta and other remote areas of the country, as they would not be in a position to know which of their cases were fixed for the next day.
“I do not see a rationale behind the decision that cases will be listed every day; this is a major deviation from the decades-old tradition; it seems that the decision has been taken only to punish us all,” he said.
“The order will have deep repercussions on the legal profession and should be resolved on top priority basis,” he said.
Mr Mahmood said the closure of the Supreme Court library was another issue. He demanded that the library should be re-opened. “This would help lawyers, particularly those coming from remote areas, to prepare their cases as part of their professional pursuit.”
He hoped that the apex court would not add to the Bar’s problems unnecessarily and ignore some controversies of the past.
Mr Mahmood said the rule of law and administration of justice were the cardinal principles of the SCBA aims and objectives. The rule of law was an issue even bigger than that of the Legal Framework Order (LFO).
“The lawyers are of the opinion that no individual has the right to amend the constitution and that the LFO is not part of it. However, a decision about the movement is to be taken by the Lawyers Action Committee of which the SCBA is a member. “This does not mean we have given another thought to the issue of the LFO and the enhancement of the judges’ retirement age; these issue are of fundamental importance,” Mr Mahmood said.
He said his election had proved that the action committee’s stand was a step in the right direction and that the lawyers wanted the restoration of true democracy in the country.
“It will not be wrong to say that the SCBA elections are a vote against those supporting the LFO and a victory of those struggling against the dictatorial rule,” he added.
The outgoing SCBA president, Hamid Khan, told this correspondent that the election of Tariq Mahmood and other pro-democracy forces had again proved that lawyers vehemently opposed the present regime’s policies.
“This is a vote of no-confidence against Gen Pervez Musharraf.”
He said the government used all tactics to secure the win of its candidates but lawyers’ unity against the autocratic rule had turned table on them.
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