PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council on Monday said lawyers across the province would boycott courts on Wednesday (tomorrow) to protest non-elevation of Peshawar High Court judges to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

A statement issued here said that since 2017, no judge from the PHC had been elevated to the apex court despite the availability of vacant seats.

The vacant seats at the apex court should be filled through elevation from the PHC as Pakistan was a federation and the Supreme Court, being the apex constitutional court of the federation, must have proper representation of all the federating units.

Besides, the statement said in case of any constitutional/legal issue arising between the centre and the federating units or among the different federating units, proper representation of KP was necessary in the apex court to resolve that issue.

The bar council regretted that even the pending petition of late PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth on the issue of elevation was not decided by the apex court.

The council demanded early convening of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan meeting under Article 175-A of the Constitution to resolve the important constitutional issue to minimise the sense of deprivation among the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“To record our protest, the lawyers of KP shall not appear in courts on March 1 across the province,” the statement said.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2023