GroundReport | Pakistan | Reinstatement of deposed judges

Reinstatement of deposed judges

Raza Hussain May 18, 2008

The All Pakistan Lawyers’ Representative Conference on Saturday resolved to start a “Long March” across the country on June 10 to press for the reinstatement of the judges who were ‘deposed’ under the garb of Nov-3 Pervez Musharraf’s PCO.

Representatives of the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association, provincial Bar Councils, High Court Bars and District Bar Associations from all over the country, after six-hour discussions also decided to hold the All Pakistan Lawyers Conventions on May 24, May 31 and June 9.

It was also decided that ‘deposed’ Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges would be invited to the conventions as chief guests.

About 300 representatives of the lawyers from countrywide bars attended the conference and except for one dissenting voice, all others unanimously supported the resolution for the long march and the conventions.

Briefing the media after the conference, Pakistan Bar Council Vice-Chairman Haji Syed Rehman said the conference had also resolved to constitute a committee of senior members to decide the modalities of the conventions as well as the routes and how would the long march proceed on June 10. He said the committee would also decide the venues of the conventions. As per the initial schedule, the June 9 convention would be held in Lahore.

Meanwhile, SCBA President Ch Aitzaz Ahsan said the long march had been named ‘Adlia Bahali Long March’ (the restoration of judiciary long march).

Answering to a query, he said if the government restored the judges before June 10, the lawyers would turn the march into celebration.

When asked about his decision to contest the election, he said the conference had permitted him to go for it but he would take the final decision in a couple of days.

Various resolutions were adopted unanimously during the conference and the speakers applauded the struggle of the lawyers’ community for the independent judiciary. They said thousands of lawyers and ‘independent judges’ faced hardships from house arrest to jail and torture.

They said the lawyers’ efforts and the high morale of the deposed judges challenged a dictator and opened the way to democracy, the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in the country. They said an independent judiciary was inevitable for democracy and the constitutional rule, which in turn, would become the foundation for economic growth and social developments. They said the ruling coalition through the Murree Declaration had promised the restoration of judiciary to the November 2 position within 30 days of the formation of the government but it failed. The failure not only frustrated the lawyers but the people of Pakistan as well, he added. After receiving an input from the representatives, the conference announced to start the long march on June 10, which may take up to three days to complete. The participants raised slogans to express their support for the march.