GILGIT: Lawyers in Gilgit-Baltistan continued their protest on Monday, boycotting court proceedings to press the government to fulfil their demands.

Protest rallies were held in Gilgit, Astore, Skardu and Ghanche. The GB Bar Council, Supreme Appellate Court Bar Association, High Court Bar Association and districtbar associations have jointly given the protest call.

The lawyers are on a strike, boycotting all court proceedings till April 16. For the past five months, the lawyers in the region have been frequently protesting and boycotting court proceedings, except for emergency cases, due to the unmet demands.

A protest rally organised by the High Court Bar Association was taken out from Kondas to the Chief Minister House on Monday. A large number of lawyers participated in the rally. The protesters were chanting slogans against the government and in support of their demands and holding banners inscribed with slogans such as “Ensure fulfilment of lawyers’ demands.”

Boycott court proceedings, rallies held in Gilgit, Astore, Skardu and Ghanche

The protesting lawyers said their demands couldn’t be fulfilled despite their five months of protests due to the negligence and incompetenceof the GB government.

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, on Wednesday heard a case pertaining to the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The GB government had challenged appointments of GB higher judiciary judges in the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the Supreme Court issued a stay order. However, on Thursday the Supreme Court lifted the stay order on appointments of GB judges in higher judiciary after the attorney general for Pakistan and the advocate general of Gilgit-Baltistan reached an understanding on the procedure for appointments.

The Supreme Court was assured that two judges would be appointed on the vacant positions in GB Supreme Appellate Court and one judge in the GB Chief Court within one month. The lawyers’ leaders announced on Monday that the protest will be called off after fulfilment of all their demands.

Sultan Karim, a lawyer, told Dawn that the judicial system in GB was different from other provinces of Pakistan.

He said the mechanism of appointments of judges in GB Supreme Appellate Court and the Chief Court through the administration was a big flaw in the judicial system. He said judges in the higher judiciary of GB should be appointed through the judicial commission.

Adnan Hussain Advocate said special courts, including, Labour Court,Consumer Court and Family Court had not been established in GB.

The cases related to these courts were referred to civil or sessions court.

He said lawyers had also been demanding advertisements for vacant civil judge positions, adding judicial magistrate posts should be separated from civil judge posts as practiced in other parts of the country with their appointments made from the legal fraternity on merit.

Lawyers also demanded the extension of the Lawyers Protection Act to GB by the federal government, a move they argued is essential for ensuring their safety and professional rights.

Islam Advocate said the GB government had not incorporated their recommendations for the proposed land reforms. The lawyers’ objections were also ignored in the GB reforms draft while mineral and mining leases were awarded to outsiders.

They demanded the government to ensure plots for the lawyers.

They warned that if their demands were not fulfilled, the lawyers would decide to lock courts and spread the protest movement to other cities.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025