PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC) on Tuesday decided to extend the strike of lawyers until Nov 14 (Saturday) as a provincial lawyers’ convention demanded of the government to promulgate a proposed ordinance to reverse the last year’s controversial changes to the Code of Civil Procedure.

While the cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposed KP Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, the KPBC warned that if the ordinance was not promulgated by Nov 14, the lawyers would stage demonstrations across the province and besiege the Governor’s House and Chief Minister’s House in the capital city.

The lawyers had begun the strike on Oct 17 on the call of the KPBC, which extended it many times.

The lawyers’ convention convened by the council on the high court’s premises was attended by representatives of bar associations from across the province.

The convention was followed by a protest procession up to the nearby provincial assembly building.

Warns governor, CM houses to be besieged if ordinance to undo CCP changes not promulgated

The lawyers shouted slogans demanding the early reversal of the CCP changes.

Supreme Court Bar Association president Abdul Lateef Afridi, KPBC vice-chairman Shahid Raza Mali, PHC Bar Association president Khalid Anwar Afridi and other leaders of lawyers addressed participants.

The provincial government had enacted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act last year making drastic amendments to the civil law.

on Jan 8, a KPBC general body decided to start an indefinite strike against those changes.

On the call of the council, the lawyers had observed a strike for 23 days until the government promised the reversal of the CCP changes.

Later, lawyers and government decided during talks that action on the controversial amendments would be deferred for three months and during that period, their respective committees would evolve consensus on amendments to be made to the law.

The government later promulgated the KP Civil Law Amendment Ordinance, 2020, deferring the CCP amendments until April 15, 2020.

However, the ordinance lapsed later restoring the controversial provisions.

Addressing the convention, SCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi said the cabinet had approved the promulgation of an ordinance to remove the controversial CCP provisions.

He demanded the immediate promulgation of the ordinance and its tabling in the assembly for approval and said until that happened, the lawyers would continue their struggle for the purpose.

Mr Afridi said the lawyers should resort to strike in extreme circumstances only so that ordinary litigants didn’t suffer.

He said wrong decisions of the government had forced the legal fraternity to boycott courts across the province.

The SCBA president condemned the language used by federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur against PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif and opposition parties in a public meeting in Gilgit-Baltistan.

“We [lawyers] condemn the use of filthy language by the representatives of both government and opposition,” he said.

The other speakers said the lawyers would continue to work for the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and strengthening of democracy in the country.

They said it was the responsibility of the government to check increasing prices and unemployment but it had so far failed to do so.

The convention passed a resolution condemning the publication of blasphemous sketches in France and its justification by the French president.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2020