LAHORE, Oct 24: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) presidential candidate Barrister M Zaffar has said deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry could not be restored without restoration of the 1973 Constitution which existed on Oct 12, 1999.

He said this at a reception hosted in his honour by former attorney-general Malik Muhammad Qayyum in connection with his election campaign here on Friday. Barrister Zafar said he was not an obstacle in the restoration of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. He had very cordial relations with justice Chaudhry and considered him his brother. He said justice Chaudhry would be restored automatically with the restoration of the Constitution as it was on Oct 12, 1999, which could only be done by parliament.

He said the country was in a deep crisis owing to the deteriorating law and order situation and disfiguring of the Constitution. Conditions could not improve without the restoration of the Constitution in its original form. He said lawyers had launched a movement for the independence of judiciary because a docile judiciary could not safeguard the rights of the people.

Former SCBA secretary Syed Zulfiqar Bokhari said there was no justification for continuation of the agitation for the restoration of judges as most of them were back in office. The decision about justice Chaudhry should be left to parliament.

Pakistan Bar Council member Muhammad Ramazan Chaudhry said some elements wanted to politicise the SCBA elections. He said he wanted restoration of all judges, including justice Chaudhry, but he was opposed to the politics of protest.

Lahore High Court Bar Association former president Jehangir A Jhoja said lawyers should negotiate with the government on restoration of the judges.