PESHAWAR: A lawyers’ convention here on Saturday opposed the trial of civilians by military courts insisting such a move will violate the people’s fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

It urged the federal government not to send cases against civilians over the May 9 violence protests to military courts.

Participants of the All Pakistan Lawyers Representative Convention unanimously adopted a resolution, which condemned the May 9 attacks on government and military installations but said like women and children suspected of involvement in riots, other civilians, too, should be kept out of the jurisdiction of military courts.

It also said that for the supremacy of the Constitution and the law and the “restoration” of democracy, general elections should be held on time in a free and fair manner.

Demands general elections on time in free, fair manner

The convention was called by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council and attended by representatives of the countrywide bar councils and associations.

Noted among participants were Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman Haroonur Rasheed, executive committee chairman Hassan Raza Pasha, members Ahsan Boon and Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry and appeal committee chairman Syed Amjad Shah, Punjab Bar Council vice-chairman Basharatullah Khan and members Farhan Shehzad, Haji Mohammad Afzal and Ijaz Ahmad Gurmani, Balochistan Bar Council vice-chairman Amanullah Kakar, executive committee chairman Qasim Khan and member Rahib Khan Baledi, chairman of the Sindh Bar Councils Inter-Provincial Committee Abdur Razaq Mehr, Islamabad Bar Council vice-chairman Raja Mohammad Aleem Abbasi, KPBC vice-chairman Zarbadshah Khan and executive committee chairman Syed Mubashir Shah, and member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan from KP Ahmad Farooq Khattak.

Some speakers said the Constitution didn’t allow the trial of civilians by military courts.

They also said superior courts should stop interfering in the affairs of parliament.

PBC vice-chairman Haroonur Rasheed insisted that the security establishment had never allowed democracy to flourish in the country.

“We [lawyers] don’t support any specific political party. Instead, we stand with the Constitution and the law,” he said.

The participants later adopted several resolutions. They condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and demanded that Pakistan convene a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the issue.

The participants requested OIC members to withdraw their ambassadors from Sweden and boycott all Swedish products.

They demanded that the stay order against the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, 2023, be vacated as that legislation had been advocated by lawyers for a long time.

The participants demanded the recovery of all missing persons, especially those belonging to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and said if those people were involved in any crimes, their fair trial by courts should be ensured.

In another resolution, the convention demanded that the principle of seniority be strictly followed for the elevation of judges to the Supreme Court and that the chief justice of the Sindh High Court be elevated to the apex court in accordance with the recommendation of senior-most Supreme Court judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

It also said the appointment of judges to high courts should be based on “merit” and that the perception of favouritism and preference for “chamber fellows” in those appointments should come to an end.

The convention demanded that the sanctioned strength of the Peshawar High Court be increased from 20 to 30 due to the merger of Fata (seven tribal districts) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It called for suitable amendments to Article 209 of the Constitution as well as the formulation of rules to make the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council public, besides the introduction of a timeframe for decision on those matters.

The participants also urged the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council to immediately fix the date for initiating proceedings on complaints of bar councils against Justice Mazahar Ali Akber Naqvi of the Supreme Court.

They also demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan decide the application of the federal government for the withdrawal of its review petition in the Justice Faez Isa reference case as the application was filed by the government on the demand of the legal fraternity.

In a resolution, the convention said that there should be clear rules for the formation of the Supreme Court benches and fixing of cases.

It added that a mechanism should be devised for the disposal of hundreds of thousands of cases pending with the superior courts and district courts to restore the people’s trust in the judiciary.

The participants demanded the restoration of Article 175-A of the Constitution inserted through the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, in its original form and said clear criterion should be introduced for the hearing of cases by the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

The convention thanked the law ministry for accepting several of the demands of lawyers, including the enactment of the Lawyers Protection and Welfare Act, inclusion of the grant-in-aid for lawyers in the Finance Act, and an increase in the grants for lawyers’ bodies from Rs150 million to Rs800 million.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2023