GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan lawyers have extended their protest strike till May 5, demanding acceptance of their demands.

The lawyers have also been holding protest rallies for implementation of their demands for the last several months. They had recently extended their protest strike till April 26.

GB lawyers’ bodies have been demanding the appointment of judges on vacant positions in GB Supreme Appellate Court, which is non-functional for the last seven years, establishment of special courts, extension of lawyers’ protection act and inclusion of their recommendations in the GB land reforms act.

According to a statement, a meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council was held on Sunday, chaired by its Vice Chairman Syed Riaz Ahmed.

The meeting was attended by presidents of all the district bars, High Court Bar Association and Supreme Appellate Court Bar Association.

The participants lamented that promises made by the GB government and the directives of the chief minister were not being implemented.

The meeting unanimously passed a resolution which condemned the unjustified allegations and threats made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suspend Indus Waters Treaty.

The lawyers expressed their determination that if India commits any aggression against Pakistan, they will play the frontline role in defending their homeland.

The statement said that in the resolution serious concern was expressed over the government’s non-implementation of the demands presented through a resolution at a lawyers’ convention on November 16, 2024.

The non-implementation of the directives of the chief minister regarding the fulfillment of the lawyers’ demands showed the government’s incompetence, it added.

The bar council announced the extension of the strike till May 5. It demanded that the appointment of judges in the Supreme Appellate Court should be made within a month from the legal community as per the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The bar council warned that if any retired judge or bureaucrat was appointed in the Supreme Appellate Court or the chief court, the lawyers will boycott these courts and judges.

It also warned the government that the legal community will continue its protest until its constitutional and legal demands were met.

Meanwhile, litigants have been suffering hardship for the last six months because of the strike by the lawyers. Thousands of criminal and other cases are pending in the GB courts.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2025