PESHAWAR, May 21: Justice Dost Mohammad Khan, a senior judge of Peshawar High Court, said on Saturday that certain institutions were considering themselves above the law without realising that times had changed now and judiciary won't allow anyone to violate the constitution.

“The present judiciary treats everyone alike without any fear or favour and it shall be clear to all that no institution is above the law and they shall remain in the parameters prescribed by law and constitution,” Justice Dost Mohammad said while addressing the enrollment ceremony of the lawyers of the high court.

The judge, who is chairman of the enrollment committee of lawyers, said that peoples had now been opining hopes on the judiciary and if they failed to deliver then people would not forgive them.

“It is mandatory for all segments of society, especially the rulers, to strive for rule of law and supremacy of the constitution as these are linked with the survival of the country,” he said, adding that presently the country had been facing both external and internal threats and they had to jointly address those threats by upholding the constitution.

He said that the movement started after Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry declined to resign on the pressure of General Pervez Musharraf in March 2007 had changed the course of history in the country and helped in independence of the judiciary.

“Civil society groups including lawyers and mediapersons rendered sacrifices in that movement, which forced a dictator to surrender to the will of people,” the judge added.

He stated that unfortunately Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah died only after a year of the creation of Pakistan resulting in political void, which was difficult to be filled. Highlighting the importance of the political and judicial history of the country to the newly enrolled lawyers, he stated that they should have knowledge of those historical events, which changed the political course of the country.

Justice Dost Mohammad referred to the famous Maulvi Tameezuddin case and regretted that the Federal Court upheld an unconstitutional order of the then governor general Ghulam Mohammad. The said judgment turned the future of judiciary, democracy and rule of law bleak in the country, he added.

The judge said that dictators continued to abrogate and suspend constitutions in the country and for the first time Article 6 was incorporated in the 1973 Constitution, which made abrogation of constitution an act of high treason. “That provision is still intact but the perpetrators have so far not brought to court for trial on charges of high treason,” he added.

The ceremony was also attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Asadullah Khan Chamkani, and members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council including Mohammad Iqbal Hoti, Mian Abdul Fayaz, Saeed Khan Shangla, S. Naz Muhammadzai, Mian Faheem Akber and others. Around 90 newly enrolled lawyers of the high court took oath and pledged that they would play their role as lawyers with dedication and honesty.