Military courts: Top court to hear LHCBA plea today

ISLAMABAD: While the Supreme Court is taking up Lahore High Court Bar Association’s plea on Wednesday (today) against the establishment of military courts, the apex body of lawyers has decided to observe ‘black day’ on January 29 across the country on the same issue. The Pakistan Bar Council, while passing unanimous resolution, has resolved to request the legal fraternity across the country to observe black day on January 29. Bar associations will hold protest meetings in their bar rooms against the 21st Constitutional Amendment and the lawyers will wear black armbands while appearing in courts. “The Pakistan Bar Council is extremely disturbed at the manner in which the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed by parliament and so strongly condemned the same,” says the resolution. It further states that establishment of the military courts has severely undermined all principles of independence of the judiciary and deprived citizens of due process more particularly as it violates fundamental rights of the people as enshrined in Articles 9, 10, 10-A and 25 of the Constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2015.