PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court Bar Association and district bar associations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday jointly decided to boycott courts in the province today (Friday) against the recent nominations of the Judicial Commission for appointment of judges to the high court.

It also decided to hoist black flags on the court premises and set up protest camps.

The decisions were made during a meeting convened here in accordance with a decision of the PHCBA general body. The meeting was attended by lawyers from circuit benches of the Peshawar High Court at Swat, DI Khan and Abbottabad, and representatives of district bar associations.

The participants also decided to form a committee to meet the Parliamentary Committee over the judges’ recommendations and convince it to send them back the judicial commission for reconsideration.

“We have decided that even despite our opposition, the said persons are appointed as judges, the lawyers will fully resist it and would protest against it when they take oath of their offices,” PHCBA president Essa Khan said. He said after the proposed judges’ appointment, lawyers would start indefinite boycott of courts at high court level.

Essa Khan and PHCBA secretary general Ayaz Khan told reporters that a committee of lawyers would soon hold a meeting with the relevant parliamentary committee to inform it about reservations about recommendations.

Essa Khan and Ayaz Khan said the parliamentary committee had the powers to send back the recommendations to the Judicial Commission through the prime minister.

Essa Khan said the PHCBA would also hold a lawyers’ convention for highlighting the issue of appointment of judges against merit.

Essa Khan claimed 28 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council supported the PHCBA cause and favoured the strike call.

Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has not announced any strike contrary to the decision made by the meeting.

A spokesman for the council said ‘some elements’ had been circulating messages to create an impression as if the council had announced the strike on Friday.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014