ISLAMABAD, April 24: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Aitzaz Ahsan has warned that lawyers would launch a long march if deposed judges were not restored through a resolution in the National Assembly.

Presiding over the first meeting on Thursday of SCBA’s executive committee held at the Supreme Court building after the Nov 3 emergency, he announced that the association would use legal options to get Rs100 million funds which, despite assurances given by Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum, had not been handed over to the association.

Malik Qayyum as president of the SCBA about two years ago had created a trust for the welfare of the lawyers’ community and appointed himself as its head.

Mr Ahsan told reporters that all legal avenues and other actions would be taken to get back the funds.

The meeting also endorsed the Murree Declaration for the restoration of deposed judges within one month after the formation of the government through a resolution in the assembly.

“We consider the deposed judges as the rightful and constitutional judges,” he said, adding that their reinstatement should not be linked to any constitutional package to be adopted through a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. “There is no mention of such constitutional amendment in the Bhurban Declaration,” he said.

About the filing of a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the tabling of a resolution on the judges’ issue, he expressed the hope that the high court, which was created through an extra-constitutional measure during the emergency rule, would not entertain it.

The petition was filed on Thursday in the IHC seeking a restraining order against the tabling of a resolution on the reinstatement judges in the National Assembly, instead of a constitutional amendment bill.If the resolution is tabled, the speaker or the deputy speaker whosoever presides over the proceedings should be declared disqualified, the petition said. The high court is expected to take up the matter on Friday.

When asked about a possible move to cut the tenure of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry as Chief Justice through a constitutional package, Mr Ahsan said these were unconfirmed reports.

On the 30-day deadline, he said that if the judges were not restored in the stipulated period, the SCBA would wait for the outcome of the Pakistan Bar Council’s meeting on

May 3 and come up with a decision after consulting other bodies.

“The option to hold a long march is still open, but no timeframe could be given at this stage.”

Mr Ahsan said he would

honour PPP’s decision on his pending application for a

party ticket to contest the by-election for the NA-55 Rawalpindi seat.

SCBA secretary Amin Javed said the association’s executive committee had requested Mr Ahsan to contest the by-election, adding that a similar request had also been made to the lawyers who wanted to contest the by-polls.

An insider told Dawn that the meeting blocked an attempt to move a resolution against PPP Senator and PBC member Sardar Latif Khosa who had opposed Mr Ahsan’s decision to contest the by-election. They alleged that a large number of lawyers had been deprived of their right to contest the Feb 18 general election because of his boycott decision.