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| July 24, 2007 | Tuesday | Rajab 08, 1428 |
KARACHI: Lawyers embark upon mission to end military rule
KARACHI, July 23: The movement for the independence of the judiciary embarked upon the next phase when its key leaders, Munir A. Malik, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and Ali Ahmed Kurd, a former vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, on Monday unfurled a programme for a political change in the country.
Addressing a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association at the City Courts, they asked General Pervez Musharraf to step down before being dislodged from power through a mass movement against the military dispensation.
Buoyed by the success of the nationwide movement for the reinstatement of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the legal fraternity leadership undertook the task of handing another defeat to the military government by leading the nation to a truly representative democratic dispensation.
Munir A. Malik felt that lawyers’ responsibilities had further increased with the CJ’s reinstatement as they would have to guard against any attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary besides retaining the trust reposed by the masses in the bench and the bar.
Pledging to guide the nation in the right direction towards the restoration of democracy and the Constitution, Mr Malik warned political parties against striking deals with the military establishment, saying that the legal fraternity had the potential and strength to bring all sections of society to a single platform.
The SCBA chief urged people, including opponents of the lawyers’ movement, to sink their differences and forget the unpleasant incidents of the past to forge unity.
“A bar is a non-political forum but it can pursue a political agenda to ensure justice with citizens,” he said, and hailed the role of the judiciary in nullifying any unlawful move and action by the executive. In this context, he made mention of the Supreme Court’s historic verdict in the Pakistan Steel Mills case.
Mr Malik described the current year as “very important” and said the Supreme Court might have to settle more such cases, some of them pertaining to the POL and medicine prices, dual citizenship, etc. He also deplored that the rulers appeared less concerned about the poor classes of the country who were living a miserable life due to social and economic problems as well as injustice.
Highlighting the objectives of the lawyer’s movement and the factors responsible for its success, Mr Malik said that the basic aim was to tell the masses about the government’s motive behind suspending the chief justice. He said the other objectives were to drum up benches’ support and educate people about the importance of the judiciary’s supremacy.
The objectives were achieved during the course of the movement which was evident from mass mobilisation, participation of judges in the CJ’s receptions and awareness of the issue as reflected in the media coverage, he pointed out.
He, however, said though the CJ’s reinstatement was a great success, the movement was yet to achieve its goal. “Life is a journey not a destination,” he remarked.The SCBA chief also expressed his views on the issues raised by the Karachi Bar Association for consideration. The issues included evolving a system for people’s easy access to justice, setting up of a “judicial force” tasked with the implementation of court orders, protecting judges from the influence of hiring/transferring authority, and ensuring allocation of adequate funds for judges.
Mr Malik said the judiciary, along with the executive, legislature and press, was a pillar of the state and thus was an equally important institution. “It is supposed to play its due role without getting influenced by others,” he said, adding that a judge feeling insecure because of any problem could not do justice with his duty.
Ex-PBC vice-chairman Ali Ahmed Kurd renewed the legal fraternity’s pledge to continue its movement till the restoration of the Constitution and democracy in the country.
“In the second phase of the movement, we will rid the nation of military rule,” he vowed, advising Gen Pervez Musharraf to step down before the launching of a massive movement for his removal.
He urged all political forces to join hands with the legal fraternity in its movement for a real democracy. He said the movement was aimed at replacing the feudal rule with a democratic dispensation for the betterment of the downtrodden.
Mr Kurd described the CJ’s reinstatement as the first step towards the movement’s success, saying the next step would be restoration of people’s basic rights, democracy and the Constitution. He paid tribute to the members of all bar associations who not only launched a forceful drive across the country but also maintained its momentum through its course until the CJ’s reinstatement. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the legal fraternity to all civil society organisations, labour unions and political forces for extending their full support to the movement.
Speaking on the blast that had occurred at a reception for the CJ in Islamabad, Mr Kurd claimed that it was targeted against the chief justice and his caravan, pointing out that the bomb went off at around the same time when the CJ’s caravan was scheduled to pass by the scene of the blast. It was not a suicide bombing, he added, and held the government responsible for the spate of bombings, attacks and deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi and General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi said that the ouster of Gen Musharraf and the ruling clique was the only way to drag the country out of the various crises it was currently in.
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