LAHORE, Nov 30: The Lahore High Court Bar Association on Tuesday resolved that it would put up a strong resistance and hold a country wide agitation if the government established commercial court.

A resolution, adopted unanimously by the LHCBA general meeting with president Ahmad Awais in the chair, rejected the proposed federal court as parallel judiciary and said lawyers would abstain from appearing before the court if set up.

The resolution, moved by Advocate Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry, said high courts would be deprived of certain powers as they would be given to the proposed federal court. It called the move a conspiracy aimed at weakening the superior judiciary and eroding its powers.

Another aspect of concern, according to the resolution, was that the federal court would be under the control of the executive and its chief and other judges would be appointed by the president.

The establishment of the court and appointment of its judges was in violation of the constitution which provided for all judicial appointments in consultation with the chief justices of Pakistan and high courts.

Pakistan Bar Council members Hamid Khan and Kazim Khan, Punjab Bar Council member Ahsan Bhoon, former deputy attorney-general Khwaja Saeeduz Zafar, Shafqat Chauhan, Azam Nazir Tarar and Malik Saeed Hasan condemned the proposed court and said the scheme was a part of the government design to undermine the judiciary. They were of the view that the government wanted to appoint its own cronies giving them the status of judicial officers.