Convention: Sindh lawyers outraged at suggestion that they are ‘incompetent’
Lawyers from rural Sindh feel they may be behind in education but are just as capable.
HYDERABAD:
The Sindh Lawyers Convention came dangerously close to boycotting courts after Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Musheer Alam made some statements about the competence of lawyers.
The convention was called after Justice Alam reportedly said that lawyers from rural Sindh did not fulfil the requirements to become judges. The statement was taken as a reproach by the lawyers who addressed the event. Some of them, such as former Sindh advocate general Muhammad Yousuf Laghari, demanded that the courts be boycotted until the statement is retracted. The SHC Bar Council’s Hyderabad chapter and Hyderabad District Bar Association and Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Naushehro Feroze and Dadu district bar representatives attended the convention.
Additional Advocate General Allah Bachayo Soomro’s statement that “Sindh has produced great judges ... their judgments are quoted throughout the world” received a chorus of approval. “The lawyers of Sindh have made sacrifices and have always struggled for an independent judiciary.”
Pakistan Bar Council’s Salahuddin Panhwar contended that the impression that Sindhi lawyers lack the capability to become good judges is a misconception. “Judges from Sindh have earned their name through prudent and courageous decisions and have made a place for themselves in history, which can’t be denied.”
However, Panhwar also pointed out the difference in education in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. “As far as education is concerned, students from big cities have a headstart over their rural counterparts.” He urged lawyers to improve their English and demanded that Sindh be given at least four seats in the Pakistan Bar Council.
Laghari highlighted the irony that a judiciary that passes judgments against the appointment of contract employees to important positions has judges working on contract. “The judiciary is working against the spirit of judiciary and bureaucracy.” Laghari objected to what he described as the denigration of Sindhi lawyers and demanded that the Sindh Public Service Commission appoint judges for the lower courts.
Sindh Bar Council’s Advocate Fazl Qadir Memon complained about discrimination in Sindh Bar Council memberships. “The seats, which were reduced to 33 from 42 in Musharraf’s government, are divided unequally among the districts of Sindh,” he said.
According to Memon, 16 of the seats are given to Karachi’s lawyers while the remaining 17 are divided among the remaining 22 districts. “I reiterate the appeal to the Sindh government to legislate a law to raise the number of seats to 50 and to ensure proportionate allocations,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2011.
The Sindh Lawyers Convention came dangerously close to boycotting courts after Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Musheer Alam made some statements about the competence of lawyers.
The convention was called after Justice Alam reportedly said that lawyers from rural Sindh did not fulfil the requirements to become judges. The statement was taken as a reproach by the lawyers who addressed the event. Some of them, such as former Sindh advocate general Muhammad Yousuf Laghari, demanded that the courts be boycotted until the statement is retracted. The SHC Bar Council’s Hyderabad chapter and Hyderabad District Bar Association and Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Naushehro Feroze and Dadu district bar representatives attended the convention.
Additional Advocate General Allah Bachayo Soomro’s statement that “Sindh has produced great judges ... their judgments are quoted throughout the world” received a chorus of approval. “The lawyers of Sindh have made sacrifices and have always struggled for an independent judiciary.”
Pakistan Bar Council’s Salahuddin Panhwar contended that the impression that Sindhi lawyers lack the capability to become good judges is a misconception. “Judges from Sindh have earned their name through prudent and courageous decisions and have made a place for themselves in history, which can’t be denied.”
However, Panhwar also pointed out the difference in education in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. “As far as education is concerned, students from big cities have a headstart over their rural counterparts.” He urged lawyers to improve their English and demanded that Sindh be given at least four seats in the Pakistan Bar Council.
Laghari highlighted the irony that a judiciary that passes judgments against the appointment of contract employees to important positions has judges working on contract. “The judiciary is working against the spirit of judiciary and bureaucracy.” Laghari objected to what he described as the denigration of Sindhi lawyers and demanded that the Sindh Public Service Commission appoint judges for the lower courts.
Sindh Bar Council’s Advocate Fazl Qadir Memon complained about discrimination in Sindh Bar Council memberships. “The seats, which were reduced to 33 from 42 in Musharraf’s government, are divided unequally among the districts of Sindh,” he said.
According to Memon, 16 of the seats are given to Karachi’s lawyers while the remaining 17 are divided among the remaining 22 districts. “I reiterate the appeal to the Sindh government to legislate a law to raise the number of seats to 50 and to ensure proportionate allocations,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2011.