KARACHI, June 23: Representatives of bar associations and civil society have criticised the government for delaying the restoration of the independent judiciary and demanded that the deposed judges be reinstated immediately.

They were speaking at a programme organized in connection with the lawyers’ struggle for the independent judiciary at the PMA House on Monday. They said a military dictator had unconstitutionally overthrown over 60 judges of the superior judiciary, while the elected government was unnecessarily delaying their reinstatement.

Muneer A. Malik, a former chief of the Supreme Court Bar Association, condemned the proposed constitutional package and said that particularly its portion dealing with the recruitment of judges would seriously affect the independence of the judiciary. “The long march was not the end,” he said, adding that it was just a milestone in the lawyers’ struggle that started over a year ago and would continue till the reinstatement of all the deposed judges.

He regretted that unfortunately the political parties were protecting the establishment rather than realising the importance of an independent judiciary for the country’s progress. He said the masses wanted the judges’ reinstatement but the ruling parties were trying to maintain the status quo.

Sindh High Court Bar Association chief Rasheed A. Razvi said that the lawyers were prepared to stage a sit-in and offer court arrests if the judges were not reinstated immediately. He said the lawyers would soon convene a meeting to take a consensus decision on the next line of action. He hinted that the next show would most probably be staged in Islamabad in August.Condemning the proposed constitutional package, he said it would deface the constitution more than the amendments made by any military dictator. He said the portions particularly dealing with the judiciary would cripple the independence of the judges. Referring to the proposal about the judges’ recruitment procedure, Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi said if the recruitment was made by politicians it would be disastrous for the judiciary.

Mehmood-ul-Hassan of the Karachi Bar Association, Khursheed Tanvir of the Karachi Union of Journalists, Saleha Ather and others also spoke.