Lawyers hint at movement against 26th Amendment

ISLAMABAD:

The Lawyers Action Committee has hinted at spearheading a movement against the 26th Amendment.

Speaking to the media after lawyers meeting on Saturday, the committee chairman, Munir A Malik, said that lawyers' fraternity discussed the modus operandi of the movement.

"We are discussing whether to proceed with the lawyers' movement and, if so, at what pace, whether slow or swift," he said.

He urged the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) to organise a national referendum to gauge public and legal fraternity sentiment on the 26th Amendment.

Munir A Malik said the recently enacted amendment is in contradiction to the basic structure of the Constitution, adding no one will accept it.

He hoped that the Supreme Court would form a full bench to hear the pleas against the amendment.

"We expect the judiciary to play on the front foot rather than remain silent spectators," he added.

He asserted that lawyers nationwide would stand shoulder to shoulder with the judiciary if it decided to take a firm stance.

On the occasion, senior lawyer Ali Ahmed Kurd shared that the Lawyers Action Committee elected Munir A Malik as the committee's chairman.