KARACHI, Jan 19: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad has said that until the unconstitutional acts of Nov 3, 2007 are reversed, the dream of the supremacy of the judiciary will not materialise.

“The lawyers’ struggle for the restoration of the judiciary is a golden chapter in the country’s history,” he said while speaking at a reception for the new office-bearers of the Sindh Bar Association and the Karachi Bar Association hosted by the Islamic Lawyers Forum at Idara Noor-i-Haq on Monday.

“Administering the oath to new judges amounted to mutilating the judiciary and undoing the institutions. Until institutions are restored and steps for the supremacy of the constitution are taken, political governments will continue to be dismissed,” he said.

The JI chief said the tragic events of March 9, 2007, May 12 (2007) and April 9 (2008) were the testimony of the lawyers struggle and sacrifices.

“It is unfortunate that the government that came into power after a long struggle waged by the lawyers instead of undoing the autocratic measures was continuing to pursue the same policies.

“The commitments made in the charter of democracy are not fulfilled. The people had given them the mandate to get rid of the dictatorial system and autocratic measures,” he said.

Mr Ahmad termed the lawyers’ struggle as the movement for the restoration of the institutions and the supremacy of the judiciary and said that to be in politics was not a crime, political workers gave sacrifices for justice and fair play and the restoration of institutions in the country and today the lawyers community was also playing the same role, and as such there was no need for them to be apologetic.

The JI chief said the 17th amendment in the constitution was repealed on the day when retired Gen Pervez Musharraf refused to doff his uniform as the points which were agreed to in the presence of Gen Musharraf included the restoration of the constitution to its Oct 12, 1999 position.

Referring to the appeal of lawyers for mustering JI support for their March 9 long march and sit-in plans, Mr Ahmad called for its clear objectives and expressed the need for a formal agreement before the “final round” because in a country where changes took place like the weather, a change could not be made possible without comprehensive planning.

Earlier, he said the sacrifices given by lawyers of Karachi were unprecedented and it was a lead for the people of the country. The entire nation was grateful to the lawyers for their struggle.

Sindh High Court Bar Association President Rashid A. Razvi said the lawyers’ national coordination council had decided to contact political parties to muster their support for the scheduled “long march” on March 9 as a conspiracy was being hatched against the judiciary to make it a subservient institution.

He said through an amendment in the Judicial Rules 1994 in last November, the power of appointment of judges in the lower judiciary, which used to be a prerogative of high court judges, was given to the Sindh Public Service Commission.

He also referred to the efforts being made to make it possible that after retirement of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on March 21, a chief justice could be appointed from outside the list of seniority of judges.

Mr Razvi said those lawyers were being imposed on them as judges who had no role in the struggle for the restoration of the judiciary. If the government wanted to compensate some lawyers for their loyalty to the cause of a political party, they should be given party offices instead of direct appointments in the high courts.

“The appointment of three judges in the high courts on Dec 12 was a violation of the verdict given in the judges case,” he said.

Referring to the long march scheduled for March 9, he said it would prove a milestone in the restoration of the judiciary and that the way the entire nation had joined the lawyers community on July 2008, the entire nation would stand behind the lawyers on March 9.

President of the Karachi Bar Association Mohammad Abbasi said their struggle was not for any political objectives but for the survival and strengthening state institutions.