ABBOTTABAD, June 3: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has said that judiciary should become a strong institution enjoying people’s trust and where people’s interests are safeguarded.

He was speaking at a lawyers’ convention organised by the Peshawar High Court Bar Association and the District Bar Association, Abbottabad, on Saturday night.

The chief justice who arrived at the venue at around 11.15pm was scheduled to address the convention at 2pm but his speech began at 2am on Sunday as he reached the city from Islamabad in 14 hours.

He spoke on the need for justice for all and the role of the bar and the bench.

The chief justice said the need of the hour for the judiciary was to get the confidence of the general public with a free, fair and impartial role based on strong will and courage and to become the custodian of the rights of the public.

Justice Iftikhar said the bar and the bench were the main pillars of the judicial system. The direction and role of both should be in unison and any clash between them would damage the cause of justice for the people, he said.

Quoting Article 25 of the Constitution, the chief justice said every citizen had an equal right to justice without any discrimination. Articles 26 and 27 were very clear in providing every citizen full protection and justice, he said.

He said the golden rules set by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) were placed in the Constitution and no one had the right to go above the Constitution.

The chief justice’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan said only parliament had the power to amend the constitution and the corps commanders and the dictatorship had no right to take ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ steps.

He said the entire nation was awakened and all suggestions and decisions by people in uniform about the president maintaining his military post would be treated as steps against the country.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Munir A. Malik said there had been a visible change in the general public after March 9 and now people were rejecting all illegal steps of the rulers.

He said the rule of law and independence of the judiciary would be upheld through the power of people.