PESHAWAR: The lawyers’ community on Wednesday observed a strike across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the provincial government’s decision to remove the condition of the minimum two years of experience as a legal practitioner for the appointment as a civil judge.

The strike call was given by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC).

Lawyers mostly stayed away from proceedings before courts, including the Peshawar High Court.

A notification for the decision was issued by the law secretary on Dec 15, declaring changes to the KP Judicial Services Rules, 2001, resulting into a controversy as the KPBC stated that it had not been consulted before making the said changes.

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

The notification said 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 years after enrolment 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.

KPBC vice-chairman Ahmad Farooq Khattak and executive committee chairman Akber Khan Kohistani rejected the notification, stating in future candidates having no experience could be appointed as civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate. They 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 stated 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.

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

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025