Roll call: Raza Rabbani among 33 new SC lawyers

CJP witnesses roll signing, says constitution is a dynamic, living document.

KARACHI:

At an impressive ceremony, 33 lawyers signed the roll for the Supreme Court (SC) here on Saturday, witnessed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

They are now qualified to appear in cases before the apex court as ASCs or Advocates of the Supreme Court.

Congratulating the entrants, including Senator elect Mian Raza Rabbani, Shoua-un-Nabi, Masroor Ahmed Alvi, Munsif Jan, the CJ said that ASCs must assist the court in interpreting the law and the constitution through different cases when they appear as counsel for a litigant. The advocates shall come prepared to answer all questions about a case they are appearing in.

“We are fortunate as a nation as our constitution is a dynamic document which encompasses every facet of our national life,” said CJ Chaudhry.

He sounded optimistic when he said that all state institutions were following the law and were working in the parameters defined for them in the constitution.

Democracy is flourishing today due to the adherence to the constitution, he said, adding that nobody should have an iota of doubt that a free and independent judiciary is the greatest supporter of democracy and democratic institutions.

This judiciary will ensure the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution, he concluded, hoping that the entrants to the highest bar would prove themselves an asset for the bar and the bench.

Visit put off

A scheduled visit of the CJP to the City Courts complex here on Saturday evening was called off at the eleventh hour when the security agencies sounded an alarm to the organisers of the event.

Both the president of the Karachi Bar Association, Mehomoodul Hasan, and its secretary, Khalid Mumtaz, confirmed to The Express Tribune that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had planned to see the conditions at the City Courts complex and to meet the judicial staff there. But the security agencies were tipped off about something untoward, they said.

It was learnt that the judicial staff had planned a protest for delayed salaries and perks due to an appeal filed by the Sindh government. The frequent adjournments in the case were a cause of resentment. “Yes, we got some information about the protest,” a plainclothes policeman on duty told The Express Tribune.

“There was also an apprehension of protest by some lawyers which prompted the hosts to defer the planned visit of chief justice,” another source said.

The judicial staff which earlier resorted to two-day weekly protest had later decided to go on an indefinite strike. But it was called off following the assurances from top judiciary that the issue would be solve soon.

All the remaining three provinces are paying enhanced salaries to the judicial staff but the Sindh government went into an appeal before the Supreme Court after Sindh High Court ruled in favour of the judicial staff. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2012.