PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has removed the condition of the minimum two years of experience as a legal practitioner for appointment as a civil judge.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council rejected the move and gave a strike call across the province for today (Wednesday).

A notification for the decision was issued by the law secretary on Dec 15, declaring changes to the KP Judicial Services Rules, 2001.

The amendments were ordered by the chief minister in exercise of his powers granted under Section 26 of the KP Civil Servants Act, 1973.

Bar council rejects decision, announces strike across province today

The notification read that the words “and have practiced the profession of law in the High Court or in the Courts subordinate thereto, for a period not less than two (2) years after enrollment as an advocate” in Rule 7 about fresh appointment of civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate should be deleted.

The amended Rule 7(1) says that no person shall be appointed to a post in the service by initial recruitment unless he/she, in case of appointment to a post of Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate/Alaqa Qazi, possesses a degree in law from a recognised University entitling him/her to practice the profession of law or is a Barrister of England or Ireland or is a Member of the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland.

The amendments also said that the condition of ‘seniority-cum-fitness’ required for appointment of senior civil judge from amongst the civil judge should be replaced with “the basis of selection on merit’.

The notification also made some other changes to the rules.

Legal fraternity criticised the move, with the KP Bar Council announcing a strike against it across the province today (Wednesday).

In a news release, KPBC vice-chairman Ahmad Farooq Khattak and executive committee chairman Akber Khan Kohistani rejected the notification, claiming it appears to be aimed at “paving way for appointment of favourites by the judges.”

They said that under the controversial notification, in future candidates having no experience could be appointed as civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate.

The KPBC leaders said that it was necessary that there should be at least two-year experience for a candidate for appointment against an important post of BPS-18.

They said that initially, in the said rules there was no condition of experience for the candidates and the same was included in the rules in consultation with the Peshawar High Court and the KPBC.

The KPBC leaders said removing that condition without consulting the KPBC was an inappropriate act.

They believed that judges not having any knowhow of judicial work proved disastrous for the judiciary.

The council representatives demanded of the government to revoke the controversial decision otherwise the legal fraternity would chalk out their future course of action including forceful protest.

Meanwhile, the Haripur District Bar Association on Tuesday endorsed the decisions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, rejecting the notification to remove the requirement of two years’ experience as a practicing lawyer for the appointment of civil judges and allowing recruitment of civil judges without any prior experience.

Asad Saeed Khan, the president of the District Bar Association Haripur, said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had clearly agreed that two years of practical experience as a lawyer was essential for the post of an 18-grade civil judge, as merely holding a law degree was not sufficient to carry out judicial responsibilities.

“This condition was introduced in consultation with the Bar Council and Peshawar High Court, and unilaterally removing it goes against the interests of both lawyers and the judiciary,” he said.

The president said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had rejected the decision without consultation, declaring it detrimental to the judicial system as the judges who lacked experience in judicial proceedings and practical legal matters will undermine public trust.

He said in accordance with the directives of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, all lawyers of the District Bar Association Haripur would not appear in any court in Haripur on Wednesday and wouldn’t participate in court proceedings. He demanded immediate reversal of the amendment warning if that doesn’t happen, the scope of the protest will be expanded.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2025