KARACHI, Oct 11: The Sindh High Court Bar Association president hinted at a country-wide lawyers’ movement for implementation of the Supreme Court judgment with regard to the appointment of judges, particularly in the SHC.

Addressing a full court reference on the eve of Justice S. Ali Aslam Jafri’s retirement from the SHC, Advocate Akhtar Hussain said “it now appears to be a futile exercise to refer to the violation of the SC verdict in Al Jihad Trust case and the only course left for the Bar is to again launch a countrywide movement even for the implementation of its decisions in letter and in spirit.

(The judgment called for timely and permanent appointments to replace the retiring judges). The lawyer noted that the on retirement of its fourth judge in 10 months, the SHC was short of its sanctioned strength.

Rich tributes were paid to Justice Jafri by Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and lawyers’ representatives. Besides the SHCBA chief, Sindh Bar Council vice-chairman Noor Naz Agha, Karachi Bar Association senior vice-president Tariq Khan Niazi, Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui and Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan spoke on the occasion.

The speakers noted that Justice Jafri was elevated in the year 2000 after practising law for over three decades, during which he also served as a member of the Sindh Bar Council from Khairpur.

Special reference was made to his judgments developing the environmental law and doctrine of public trust in respect of natural resources, like water and air. In one judgment, he held that the rights created in favour of a party could not be extinguished by amendments to law.