KARACHI, May 30: President of the Karachi Bar Association Iftikhar Javaid Qazi has said that he will file a petition in the Sindh High Court on Thursday (May 31) against Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arabab Ghulam Rahim under section 204 of the Constitution for his anti-judiciary remarks reported in the media.
Mr Qazi, talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, said that while the government had failed to protect life and property of people, the chief minister was busy criticising the judiciary. He deplored that dozens of people had been killed on the city’s roads on May 12 but the government had not arrested the killers.
He said the government had even failed to tell the nation how many FIRs had been registered against the terrorists and how many illegal arms had been recovered.
The KBA chief, earlier, spoke at the general body meeting of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and held the Sindh government responsible for the May 12 violence. He said that people had been left at the mercy of armed terrorists that day. Criticising the chief minister for issuing anti-judiciary statements, he said that being the chief executive of the province, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim should at least have known what status the judiciary enjoyed.
Members Sindh Bar Council Zia Ahmed Awan, Sati M. Ishaq and SHCBA General-Secretary Munir-ur-Rehman also condemned the chief minister for issuing statements against the judiciary.
They expressed concern over the threats being issued to journalists, and asked the government to ensure protection to media men. They appreciated journalists’ role for the independence of the judiciary.
The KBA also held its general meeting at the City Courts on Wednesday. The lawyer announced a complete boycott of the courts proceedings and a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road on Thursday.
