KARACHI: PBA to name those who detained CJ on March 9
KARACHI, April 22: The Pakistan Bar Association on Sunday decided to disclose on April 24 the names of those “who illegally detained Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry for five hours in the President’s camp office and misbehaved with him” on March 9.
This was announced at the Sindh Lawyers’ Convention held here at the Sindh High Court with Sindh Bar Council Vice-Chairman Amin Lakhani in the chair.
Former judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts including Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Nasir Aslam Zahid, Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, Mujeebullah Siddiqui, Zahid Qurban Ali, PBC Vice-Chairman Ali Ahmed Kurd, Supreme Court Bar Association President Munir Malik, SHC Bar Association President Abrar Ahmed, Karachi Bar Association President Iftikhar Javed Qazi, office-bearers and representatives of lawyers’ bodies and scores of lawyers from across the province attended the convention.
The convention decided to observe a complete strike of court proceedings on the day of the hearing of the presidential reference against the CJP before the Supreme Judicial Council in Islamabad, hold protest demonstrations across the country, where copies of the reference would be burnt to show contempt for its contents.
Speakers appreciated the judges for attending the reception in the honour of the CJP and stated that by attending bar receptions in Hyderabad and Peshawar, they had proved that Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was still Chief Justice.
Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim said that lawyers were striving for the rule of law. He said that it was not an issue of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, but the issue was that of the supremacy of the Constitution and independence of the judiciary.
Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, criticizing statements of the federal law minister and the law secretary, said that they had started a media trial of the CJP. He said the government should immediately withdraw the reference and reinstate Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as CJP.
According to him, the Supreme Judicial Council is a fact-finding tribunal and not above the Supreme Court. He said that it cannot interpret constitutional provisions.
It was just entitled to decide whether the CJP had committed misconduct or not, but it could not give a verdict, he said.
PBC Vice-Chairman Ali Ahmed Kurd said that lawyers had decided that they would oust the dictator and not allow another general to rule the country.
SCBA President Munir Malik said Mach 9 would always be remembered in the history of Pakistan as the day the CJP refused to bow down before a dictator.
The convention unanimously resolved that the bar associations across the country would lodge their protest according to the decision of the Joint Action Committee.
It also said that it was believed that the government, in order to create rifts between lawyers, might induct politically motivated persons to disturb the unity of the legal fraternity. The lawyers said it was necessary to lodge protests without affiliating with any political party.—PPI
