MARDAN: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel on Monday said from top to bottom, the judiciary was committed to blocking the way of the forces trying to take unconstitutional actions.

“It’s now impossible for such forces to take undemocratic and illegal steps as there is independent judiciary in the country,” he told the oath-taking ceremony of the office-bearers of the Mardan District Bar Association here.

The ceremony was also attended by the president of Peshawar High Court Bar Association, office-bearers of Nowshera, Charsadda and Swabi district bar associations, judicial officers, district administration and police officials.

The chief justice said the Supreme Court had already declared that it won’t tolerate any unconstitutional move in the country during the current political crisis.

Says bench, bar should jointly fight for rule of law

He said it was the duty of the judiciary to examine the actions of the government and other institutions to prevent the meting out of injustice to the people.

Justice Mazhar Alam said Pakistan was created as a welfare state and the judiciary was committed to ensure that the benefits of being part of a welfare state trickle down to the people.

He said the bench and the bar were interlinked with each other and that it was legal and moral duties of both of them to jointly fight for the rule of law as a society could not stay intact without the rule of law.

Responding to the demands of the Mardan District Bar Association’s cabinet, the chief justice said sheds for newcomers and young lawyers would built in a short possible time.

He said construction work on the judicial complex for which the land had already been acquired would begin after consultation with the relevant quarters.

Justice Mazhar Alam appreciated the lawyers’ suggestion to extend the premises of the district courts to the 60 kanals old jail land after its shifting to the newly-built 300-kanal jail building and said he would take up the matter with the relevant authorities.

He said the vacant posts of civil and session judges in Mardan would soon be filled, while measures would be taken to ensure that one session judge discharge duty in Katlang tehsil.

The chief justice directed the district and session judge of Mardan to take up the matter of establishing dispensary on the premises of Mardan courts with the relevant authorities for necessary action.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014