ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Balochistan Bar Council (BBC) met Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa on Monday and discussed issues pertaining to the legal fraternity of the province.

The delegation consisted of BBC vice chairman Haji Attaullah Langu, executive committee chairman Rahib Khan Bulaidi, Mohammad Saleem Lashari and Munir Kakar.

They apprised the CJP about different issues being faced by the legal fraternity of the province, like the nomination or elevation in the superior judiciary from Balochistan.

A statement issued after the meeting regretted that not a single member from Baloch and Pashtun communities had ever been elevated to the Supreme Court as a judge. Likewise, in the case of the Balochistan High Court, appointments have been made in a deliberate move that until 2030 no judge will assume the highest post of the BHC chief justice who belongs to Baloch people.

And whenever any judge from Baloch people was appointed judge of the high court, he was already on the verge of reaching superannuation in a year or two like the case of Justice Shakeel Baloch and Justice Qadir Baloch who got retirement within two years of their elevation to the top judicial hierarchy.

Such development creates despondency and a sense of deprivation among Baloch people and fan hatred thus affecting adversely the national cohesion, the statement feared. The statement regretted that out of nine judges of the BHC, only two judges were Baloch which does not reflect the true representation of Baloch people. There­fore, a balance between Baloch and settlers should be maintained during elevations in the provincial high court, the statement demanded.

The statement also condemned appointment of near and dear ones of high court judges or retired judges in federal and provincial tribunals.

Meanwhile, the May 2 meeting of the judicial commission to elevate three judges in the Islamabad High Court is expected to consider the names of Mohammad Azam Kambrani from Balochis­tan, Kashif Sarwar Parachi from Sindh and Fayyaz Ahmed Jandral from Islamabad.

Earlier, the name of Mohammad Ewaz Zehri was proposed but he withdrew his candidature in the wake of an adverse judgement against him. Mohammad Azam Kam­bra­ni is a well-known lawyer who also served as the judge of the Anti-Terrorist Court in 2007-08.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2019