The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Punjab Bar Council (PbBC), Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) have demanded ‘a role and say’ in the process of selection of lawyers for appointment as judges in high courts and elevation of judges to the Supreme Court.
The office bearers of the all the bars of the country at joint press conference here on Monday also questioned integrity of the Supreme Court and transparency of judicial commission of Pakistan, expressing concerns on the state of affairs in the sitting judiciary.
Vice Chairman of Pakistan Bar Council Akhtar Hussain, PBC Executive Committee Chairman Burhan Moazzam Malik, PBC members Rooh-ul-Amin Chamkani, Mian Asrarul Haq, Mian Abbas Ahmad, M Ahsan Bhoon, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Supreme Court Bar Association President M Yaseen Azad, Lahore High Court Bar Association President Shehram Sarwar, Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Ghulam Abbas Nassoana, PbBC chairman executive committee Asif Saeed Rana, Balochistan Bar Council Chairman Executive Committee Muneer Kakkar and other representatives of the LHCBA said this at a joint press conference held on Monday
They demanded of the Supreme Court to deal the common cases of public and ignore the politicised, “handpicked cases.” They said the SC was dealing with several cases against the government including NRO implementation case, contempt of court cases against Prime Minister and Senator Babar Awan, and Memogate. In a joint statement, read out at the press conference, the bars said the process of appointment of judges in SC through judicial commission must be consensus oriented and not by the majority and in this respect the representatives of the bar councils, being the real stake holders, must be consulted at the time of initiation of names by the Chief Justice of the respective high courts.
It said to ensure transparency the minutes of the proceedings of the JC must be furnished to the stake holders i.e. The Pakistan Bar Council as well as the provincial bar councils. The appointments must be made on the basis of integrity and competency and in any manner, not on the basis of loyalty towards certain individuals in the ‘hierarchy’ and all the bar association must be given due share in elevation of high court judges, it added.
The statement added, “We also resolve that those former judges who had taken oath under the constitution of Pakistan after withdrawal of PCO and were removed through the judgment of supreme court must be considered along with others for appointment as judges in the superior judiciary on the basis or competence and integrity in the light of observations made by SC.
“We show our serious concerns over the law and order situation in the country in general and target killing of lawyers in particular”, the bar representatives said, adding, “We condemn target killings, abduction and disappearances of our colleagues and more particularly of Nasrullah Warraich advocate, former chairman executive committee of PBC and even common citizens and demand immediate action by government authorities in this regard.”
