PESHAWAR, Nov 24: Judges taking oath under the new PCO have no “constitutional authority” to pass judgments for prolonging the “illegitimate rule” of an individual, according to the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA).

The association on Saturday welcomed the scheduled return of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and his family and hoped that he would play an active role in the restoration of the Constitution. A general body meeting of the association, chaired by Barrister Bacha, was held at the high court which called upon the political parties to boycott the elections.

Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the meeting condemned the Supreme Court’s Friday judgement, stating that a bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had declared the proclamation of the state of emergency as unconstitutional on Nov 3.

“Following the Nov 3 order of the Supreme Court, the PCO judges had no legal authority to validate the imposition of emergency,” said Barrister Bacha.

The meeting resolved that the masses had no confidence in the judges taking oath under the PCO and said they should stop delivering judgments on matters of national importance. Terming the ‘PCO judges’ a group of sycophants, the meeting said their sole objective was to prolong the illegitimate rule of Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The meeting also condemned the dubious role played by some politicians, especially Maulana Fazlur Rehman, adding that he had constantly been adopting steps in favour of Gen Musharraf.

The meeting was addressed by association’s secretary-general Ishtiaq Ibraheem, Abdul Sattar Khan, Khanzada Khan, Wali Khan Afridi, Essa Khan, Bashir Tanghi and Kareem Mehsud. The participants urged the Chief Election Commissioner not to notify the election of Gen Musharraf because the PCO judges’ judgment was null and void in the eyes of the law.