KARACHI, Nov 13: The Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) has set up an emergency fund for needy lawyers participating in the struggle for the rule of law. The proposal for establishing the fund was put forward by former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed, who presided over Tuesday’s meeting of the association’s general body.
Contributions started pouring in as soon as the meeting approved the proposal. A sum of Rs50,000 each was contributed by or on behalf of detained lawyers Munir A. Malik and Rasheed A. Razvi, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Secretary-General Iqbal Haider, former SHCBA president M. Ilyas Khan and Sindh Bar Council member Zahida Naqvi.
Advocate Mubin Lakho contributed Rs30,000 on behalf of his father Abdul Hafeez Lakho, former SHCBA president and advocate-general. Other members also donated varying amounts and the SHCBA was asked to draw up a list of donations.
The fund, as Mr Ahmed suggested, is meant to provide financial assistance to advocates who depend on their daily earnings and were suffering a great loss of income because of the protest boycott against the emergency. It would also be utilized to help the dependants of detained lawyers facing financial problems. The SHCBA decided on Monday to extend the boycott till Nov 16. Former SHC judge Mrs Majida Rizvi would chair Wednesday’s general body meeting when more contributions are likely to be made.
The meeting also expressed its gratitude to the world community in general and the United States, the European Union and the Commonwealth in particular for supporting the people of Pakistan “in their struggle for the restoration of constitutional rule and holding of free, fair and impartial elections.”
Addressing the general body meeting earlier, Mr Ahmed urged lawyers to remain firm in their opposition to the “illegal and unconstitutional imposition of emergency. The proclamation was intended only to subjugate the judiciary and prevent the rule of law from taking root.” Criticizing the judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), he said they had violated their solemn pledge to uphold and protect the Constitution. He also questioned the competence of the new chief justice.
About the petition moved by him as a presidential candidate challenging the eligibility of Gen Pervez Musharraf for the office, he said he did not want it to be heard by the judges who owed allegiance to the PCO. He had submitted an application to the Supreme Court in this regard but it was returned as ‘not maintainable’. He said the court should have assigned reasons for the application’s ‘non-maintainability’.
Earlier, police tried to stop Mr Ahmed from entering the Sindh High Court where he turned up to meet members of the legal fraternity in the bar room.
Dozens of policemen and plainclothes security persons tried to convince the former chief justice of the Sindh High Court not to enter the building. Mr Ahmed was accompanied by secretary-general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Iqbal Haider.
“They can’t stop anyone from entering the court. It’s a public place,” Mr Ahmed told Dawn after attending the meeting. “There is no legal ground to deny anyone access to the court. If they are doing this to a former chief justice of the high court, what could be expected by a common man?” he wondered.
He said he would keep visiting the Sindh High Court to speak to members of the legal fraternity.
