PESHAWAR, March 3: Politicians and lawyers here on Monday condemned horse trading in Senate elections and held military rulers and judiciary responsible for the deterioration of the political system in the country.
Addressing a seminar entitled Senate Elections and Rigging arranged by the Peshawar Bar Association here on Monday, the speakers, including politicians and lawyers, regretted that the superior courts provided legal cover to military dictators who had staged coups in the country from time to time.
The speakers included Central Secretary-General of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra, Provincial Chief of the Awami National Party Bashir Ahmad Bilour, leader of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Mufti Kifayatullah, Member of Pakistan Bar Council and former senator Qazi Muhammad Anwer, President of PBA, Mr Sher Afgan Khattak, Barrister Baachaa and others.
Qazi Anwer announced that in accordance with the decision of the PBC and Supreme Court Bar Association, the lawyers community across the country would observe a black day on March 8 against the Legal Framework Order and extension in the retirement age of judges of the superior courts. He said that on March 22 a national seminar would be held in Peshawar.
Mr Anwer said that after Peshawar seminars would be held in other major cities. He said the superannuation date of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Sheikh Riaz, was March 8, 2003, but due to the LFO, three years extension has been given to him. He said that the chief justice should announce his retirement on March 8 otherwise the legal circles would believe that he had become part of the power sharing formula with the military rulers.
The speakers regretted that MPAs in the provincial assembly sold out their votes to Gulzar Ahmad, Waqar Ahmad and other candidates. They added that horse-trading during the Senate elections was a stigma on the face of this province.
Mr Jhagra said that the graduate assemblies turned into a cattle market for which the military rulers and judiciary was equally responsible. He asserted that Gulzar and his son Waqar were staying at the Corps Mess and running their campaign.
Mr Bilour said that democracy could not flourish here as democratic institutions had not been allowed to function smoothly. Due to the same reason, he said, the MNAs and MPAs would continue to sell their votes.