CHARSADDA, Feb 18: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan on Monday said the judiciary would foil conspiracies to turn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into another Balochistan.

Addressing the oath-taking ceremony of new office-bearers of District Bar Association, Charsadda here, the CJ said the courts’ intervention had led to the recovery of around 1,500 missing persons, who were handed over to their respective families.He added that over one thousand people were still in jails.

Justice Dost Mohammad said besides putting national institutions on right track, the judiciary was also trying to provide cheap, speedy justice to the people and that the steps taken by it would be long remembered in history. He said lawyers had played the role of a vanguard for freedom of judiciary.

The CJ urged lawyers to play due role in educating and guiding voters to elect sincere and trusted representatives during the forthcoming polls. He said the relationship between the judiciary and lawyers was unbreakable.

“This relation has strengthened since March 9, 2007 when Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said no to the dictations of a military dictator and took a principled stand drawing support from lawyers, media and political parties,” he said. Justice Dost Mohammad said honour and respect of judiciary among the people had increased due to its bold decisions in various cases of national importance.

“Now, everyman is turning to courts for justice,” he said.

APP adds: The PHC CJ said lawyers could play a vital role in removing injustices from the society and provision of inexpensive justice to the people on their doorstep.

He urged lawyers to play due role in providing relief to the oppressed segments of the society.

Justice Dost Mohammad said lawyers had contributed greatly to elimination of irregularities from the society, supremacy of the Constitution and law, and restoration of independent judiciary. He said a modern judicial academy had been established for building the capacity of lawyers in their relevant fields.

The CJ congratulated the newly-elected members of District Bar Association, Charsadda and expressed the confidence that they would come up to the expectations of their fraternity.