LAHORE – Six sacked judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC), who were denied extension by the judicial commission on Saturday, visited the LHC on Monday and received a warm welcome. Judges including Abdul Rehman Ansari, Shahid Iqbal, Shaukat Umar Pirzada, Tariq Javed, Waqar Hasan Mir and Anwar Bhaur visited the bar where members showered flowers on them and chanted slogans in their favour.
They remained in the bar for around one hour. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Asma Jahangir, talking to journalists, said that extension given to some LHC judges was astonishing. She said the sacked judges should have been confirmed or terminated if they are not competent to be judges. “The extension granted to some judges was not understandable,” Asma said while questioning working of the judicial commission.
The SCBA president demanded that good judges, who were terminated during tenure of Justice (r) Abdul Hameed Dogar, should also be reinstated. “If those judges are asked to return, it would be a wise decision,” she said adding that neither judges nor litigants are satisfied with performance of the judiciary and reforms are needed in this regard.
Asma hoped that no one would be appointed a LHC judge from the Punjab advocate general’s office or from the lower judiciary. All judges must be elevated from the bar, she said.
