Pakistan

Lawyers appeal CJP to uphold Constitution

Justice Qazi Faiz Isa urged to ensure supremacy of law and adherence to the Constitution by "powerful camps"

Rana Yasif September 23, 2023

LAHORE:

In the aftermath of the release and subsequent re-arrest of political leaders following their bail hearings, the legal community on Saturday called upon Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa to uphold the supremacy of the law, saying that some “powerful camps” have openly flouted the law without any regard for its principles.

The members of the legal fraternity, alongside politicians and columnists, addressed a seminar organised at a local hotel by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) under the title “On human rights, Pakistan Constitution and way forward”.

The legal fraternity equated this "disobedience" with an attempt to mock the Constitution, wherein, the leaders of a political party were arrested again by lodging fresh cases after the release orders by the courts. They also urged the need for fair transparent elections for political stability.

“The country has been trapped in the clamps of lawlessness, there is no law and implementation of constitutional [provisions], so how the country could inch towards progress,” the lawyers held.

Speaking on the occasion, veteran lawyer Hamid Khan said that the Constitution of Pakistan explicitly stated that the freedom of speech comes under the fundamental human rights of an individual, lamenting that in today’s polity, no one was being allowed to exercise his right with freedom. He said that to bring the country back on track, CJP Isa had to ensure the supremacy of the law and its fair application to everyone.

On the selection of high courts’ judges, the lawyer emphasised a better mechanism to ensure merit and transparency in the appointment of judges. He said this was only possible by amending the rules of the judicial commission.

He said that there was also a need to amend the formation of the Supreme Judicial Council in order to deter any judge found in misconduct from becoming part of the council.

He said that by this methodology the judge facing allegations of misconduct could be held accountable under the principles of dispensing true justice.

Meanwhile, Vice President LHCBA Rabia Bajwa claimed that the May 9 incidents were used to bring a “halt to the political process”. She said that a “powerful camp would disintegrate” when they together oppose them with a show of unity in their ranks.

In his address, veteran lawyer Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said that he had never seen in his entire life the disregard for the Constitution as it was being done now.

“If courts pass orders to release the politician of a political party, they are again arrested in another case,” he lamented, also recalling that the Supreme Court’s order to hold provincial elections of Punjab on May 14 was also disobeyed.

“It seems this time a decision has been made not to comply with the court’s directives,” he added.

Moreover, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch said that political stability was only possible if free and fair elections were held. He also demanded to constitute a judicial commission to probe May 9 incidents.

The seminar was also addressed by columnists Ayaz Mir, senior journalist Habib Akram, analyst Orya Jan Maqbool, and by others.