The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Monday announced it will observe April 18 (today) as a “black day” to protest the Supreme Court’s suspension of a bill curtailing the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP)’s unfettered suo motu powers, stressing that it was passed by Parliament on the constant demand of the legal fraternity.
The announcement followed an All Pakistan Lawyers Conference that included the participation of the PBC, as well provincial and Islamabad bar councils and the Supreme Court and High Court bar associations. At its conclusion, PBC Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid and Executive Committee Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha issued a joint declaration in which they urged the Supreme Court to show restraint and avoid accelerating the political crisis by allowing time for political forces to resolve their issues. They also demanded that the apex court order suspending the implementation of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 be withdrawn, warning that if this did not happen, the country’s lawyers would have no choice but to launch a nationwide movement to protect the democratic and constitutional rights of the people.
A resolution adopted at the end of the conference stressed that the legal fraternity had been continuously demanding the right of appeal against orders passed under the jurisdiction of Article 184(3), as it is enshrined in the Islamic injunctions. It said the legal fraternity had been consistently demanding the Supreme Court amend its rules in this regard, adding that its failure to do so had prompted calls for Parliament to legislate the matter.
The conference, read the declaration, had also deliberated on the six judges who had taken up the case against the legislation, noting that most of their appointments had been questioned by the legal fraternity and members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan because of the violation of the principle of seniority and absence of any transparent criteria for their elevation to the Supreme Court. “Such orders by the Supreme Court suspending the operation of proposed SC Practice and Procedure Act 2023 will never be accepted by the legal fraternity,” it said, while also slamming a recent “round-table conference” that it alleged was organized by “politically motivated” and disgruntled elements of the bar.
The lawyers’ conference also took serious notice of a recent press conference by senior retired officers of the armed forces, warning that such efforts can only further accelerate the political crises and derail the entire constitutional process. It called upon the incumbent government to hold an all-parties conference within and outside Parliament to resolve the political constitutional issue and also urged it to conduct free, fair and transparent polls nationwide simultaneously.
The declaration welcomed the withdrawal of a curative review against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, but expressed concern over the CJP not issuing a final order despite the attorney general for Pakistan informing him of the withdrawal of the previous government’s application.