PESHAWAR, June 27: The Peshawar District Bar Association here on Friday condemned the closure of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) offices and libraries in different cities and termed it an illegal act on the part of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

A meeting of the association held here under the chairmanship of senior advocate Imdad Hussain Adil unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the closure of the offices.

Former president of the association Sher Afgan Khattak moved the resolution for condemning the act.

Mr Khattak said that the illegal act of the chief justice proved that he had panicked by the movement launched by the lawyers community across the country.

He said that prior to the closure of the library and offices of the association in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi the management had also placed a ban on lawyers convention after which the lawyers community had held a successful convention in Islamabad.

Mr Khattak said that the SCBA was a legal body and the chief justice had no authority to place a ban on its activities.

 The Supreme Court had joined hands with the military rulers in scuttling democracy and curtailing fundamental rights of individuals, he said.

Advocate Mohim  Afridi said that even General Ziaul Haq had not adopted such measures.

He said that the present chief justice had attained superannuation under the 1973 constitution and now his tenure as chief justice was illegal and unconstitutional.

Obaidullah Anwer termed the closure of the offices and library a coward act. He said that the SCBA’s offices were not property of the Supreme Court.