KARACHI, June 20: The legal fraternity on Wednesday suggested setting up of a special police force under the judiciary exclusively for the implementation of court orders. The allocation for such a force should be separate from the police department, they added. The suggestion came at a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association at the City Courts which was addressed by its President Iftikhar Javed Qazi, General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi and several members.

They were of the view that the poor handling of the May 12 incidents in the city by the police had necessitated formation of such a judicial police force to ensure that at least court orders were not defied.

Mr Qazi dispelled the impression that the legal fraternity’s ongoing movement would come to an end if the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, was reinstated, and made it clear that it would continue until the independence of the judiciary was restored.

He observed that the government was not serious about ensuring implementation of court orders in letter and spirit and the role of the executive in the wake of the May 12 incidents was one such example. In this context, he also recalled that the Sindh High Court had issued specific orders with regard to the CJ’s arrival in Karachi that day but no government functionary appeared ready to ensure compliance of these orders.

Naeem Qureshi briefed the meeting about the progress made in the Bar’s talks with the relevant authorities on the issues concerning the problems being faced by the legal fraternity, particularly KBA members.

KBA member Ghulam Mustafa Phul, who had sustained bullet injuries during the May 12 riots, also spoke at the meeting and expressed his determination to play an active role in the campaign. He said armed attacks and bloodshed could not deter members of the legal fraternity from their struggle for the independence of the judiciary and rule of law. After the meeting, KBA President Iftikhar Javed Qazi was asked about the idea of a new judicial police. In reply to a question, he said setting up of such a force would create no administrative problems, rather it would help resolve certain problems, thus bringing about an improvement in the existing system.

Mr Qazi also criticised the government for not making separate budgetary allocations for judiciary, and claimed that it was a proof of the government’s wish to make the judiciary subservient.

Meanwhile, members of the Sindh High Court Bar Association held their meeting on the SHC premises on Wednesday. Speaking at the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal observed that political leaders were not playing their due role in the legal fraternity’s struggle for the independence of the judiciary.

He accused politicians of seeking to rule over the country and to achieve this aim, they were struggling hard. He warned that their quest for personal gains was not acceptable to over 160 million people of the country.

The legal fraternity, in line with the ongoing campaign for the supremacy of the judiciary, observed a token hunger strike and one-hour boycott of proceedings of all courts in the city.