ISLAMABAD, May 3: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has expressed surprise over the extension of 30-day deadline for the reinstatement of deposed judges to 42 days and refused to recognise as lawful judges those appointed under the Provisional Constitution Order after declaration of emergency on Nov 3.

“The council does not recognise those persons as judges who were appointed under the PCO subsequent to declaration of emergency on Nov 3 as lawfully appointed judges,” the PBC said in a resolution adopted at a meeting held here on Saturday.

Presided over by PBC vice-chairman Saiyed Rehman, the council approved with a majority vote the resolution its executive committee had adopted on Friday but with few amendments. The move was, however, opposed by Dr Khalid Ranjha, Abdul Haeem Kundi and Abul Inam.

Through a resolution the council resolved to meet again on May 16 in Lahore, a day before the schedule meeting of the All Pakistan Lawyers’ Representative Conference.

The resolution said the meeting would formulate strategy to intensify lawyers’ movement by holding national conventions, long marches and other appropriate peaceful actions if the promised resolution for the reinstatement of deposed judges was not passed by May 12 or it was subsequently frustrated by undemocratic forces led by “Pervez Musharraf” or “PCO judges” acting in collaboration with him.

The PBC’s meeting was requisitioned by a group of five members demanding council’s meeting in full strength to consider protest calls.

The absence of PPP Senator Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa, who actually piloted the requisition session, was badly felt. Others who also signed the request for the session simply withdrew the requisition.

Of 22 members, the meeting was attended by 19 members but 17 members participated in the voting as Kazi Anwar had to leave early while the vice-chairman was not required to caste his vote.

Those who did not attend Saturday’s meeting are Law Minister Farooq Naek, Sardar Latif Khosa and Fazal Haq Abbasi.

PBC executive committee chairman Rasheed A. Razvi said after the meeting that the council’s decision to hold daily one-hour protest and boycotts of courts on Thursdays would hold the field until new decision was taken in May 16 meeting. He said the council had appreciated, but with caution, the announcement by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif that the deposed judges would be restored on May 12 and had also expressed surprise for extension of 30-day time limit to 42 days without any obvious reason.

The resolution said “the lawyers of Pakistan had led an epic struggle for the independence of judiciary and reinstatement of independent judges who upheld their oath under the Constitution and refused to take oath of a usurper under the PCO”.

“These independent judges and thousands of lawyers have suffered imprisonment, torture and privation at the hands of a dictator and have thus opened the way for democracy, supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law”, it said.