ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Two former presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) have condemned the Tuesday’s meeting between the present incumbent of the association and President Pervez Musharraf, terming it a betrayal of the lawyers movement for the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law, independence of judiciary and provincial autonomy.

In a statement released to the press on Friday, ex-president of SCBA and Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Executive Committee (PBC) Hamid Khan accused that by leading a delegation to meet General Pervez Musharraf, the SCBA president, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, had become a tool in the hands of the military establishment for perpetuating military rule in Pakistan.

“I condemn Malik Qayyum and the members of his delegation for betraying the cause of the lawyers,” he said. By suggesting a presidential reference to the Supreme Court on Kalabagh dam, the SCBA delegation had proposed to bypass the provinces that could create serious misunderstandings and mistrust among the provinces over a most sensitive and controversial issue.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Mohammad Akram Sheikh, also a former SCBA president, said Malik Qayyum’s suggestion on Kalabagh Dam was against the express provisions of the Constitution, which should not have emanated from the platform of the SCBA.

“Before assuming itself the advisory role to the president, the association’s new leadership should have first sought mandate from the SCBA members,” Akram Sheikh opined. Unless the SCBA is requested to render its opinion, it cannot assume upon itself the advisory role particularly keeping in view the harmony and integration of the association, he said, adding that it was mandatory that before embarking on such a suggestion on a controversial issue carrying inter-provincial sensitivity, the mandate of the association must be procured.

“All issues pertaining to water disputes are well- contemplated and comprehensively dealt with under Articles 154 and 155 of the Constitution (Council of Common Interests and ultimately voted by joint sitting of parliament).

To this “notoriously built” and “politically exploited” issue, it should not at all be suggested that such an issue be taken to the corridors of the apex court, he deplored.

Kalabagh Dam issue has become a very sensitive issue where three provincial assemblies have passed resolutions against it, Akram Sheikh recalled, adding that neither the provinces nor the federation had invoked the jurisdiction of the constitutional forum.

Meanwhile, Hamid Khan said by meeting the president, the SCBA delegation had also undermined the independence of judiciary by trying to involve it in an extremely controversial political issue.

Similarly, the demand for raising the retirement age of high court judges is against the consistent stand of lawyers that the age of retirement of the judges of the superior courts is a settled issue and should not be opened, Hamid Khan said.

“It may be Malik Qayyum’s personal opinion or desire but it has nothing to do with the considered view of the lawyers community to the effect that the retirement age of judges under the Constitution should not be touched because by tampering with the retirement age of the judges dictators manipulate the judiciary to their own personal advantage,” he observed.

By shaking hands with a man in uniform, who usurped the office of the president and subverted the Constitution, the SCBA delegation has virtually accepted the supremacy of military establishment and military ruler over the constitution, Hamid Khan said.