LAHORE, July 8: PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq says the People’s Lawyers Forum’s plan to hold a seminar in the metropolis under the chairmanship of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on July 18 is an attempt to divide the lawyers who have been struggling for the restoration of the deposed judges. However, he believes the lawyers will frustrate any move to create a rift in their ranks.

The seminar is scheduled to be held a day before a lawyers' convention that has been called for July 19 to chart the future strategy to mount pressure on the government to bring the sacked judges back to work.

Asked how would the seminar affect the PML-N's relations with its coalition partner PPP, Raja said: “We'll see how many people turn up at the seminar.”

According to him, the PPP has realized now that if it did not remove President Musharraf, he could dismiss the present government. “Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is the next target of President Musharraf.”

Underlining the need for removing the president at the earliest possible, the PML-N chairman said any delay in this regard would have disastrous consequences for the entire system.

Raja Zafarul Haq said the judgments being given by the Supreme Court comprising PCO judges had no constitutional or legal status. Therefore, he said, the ruling that judges who had not taken oath under the PCO had ceased to hold their offices carried no weight.

In his opinion the judges’ issue should be resolved without delay or the judicial crisis would get further complicated, having serious implications for the country as a whole. Himself a lawyer, the PML-N chairman said the apex court had upheld the executive order issued by the army chief to sack the judges, “but the National Assembly may ask the prime minister to withdraw that unconstitutional order which is the basis of the continuing illegalities and unconstitutionalities”.

If this course was adopted to get the controversial executive order withdrawn, the Supreme Court would not be able to raise any objection, he argued. “It will knock out the very basis of the Supreme Court judgments.”

He said the Supreme Court could not issue an order imposing an embargo on parliament.