KARACHI: Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has supported the demand of lawyers’ bodies that the Supreme Court judges should not block the legislation process and let the parliament decide the political and legislative matters. He expressed his solidarity with the lawyers on their ‘black day’ today.
Previous day the legal fraternity of the whole country had expressed serious concern over the Supreme Court’s role in the prevailing serious political crisis, and urged it to recall the interim orders suspending the proposed Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.
Altaf Shakoor said the lawyers will be correct to wage a movement to protect the democratic and constitutional rights of the people if the apex courts fail to recall its interim orders.
It may be recalled that in a joint declaration issued after a meeting of representatives of Pakistan, provincial/Islamabad bar councils, high courts and Supreme Court bar associations, the legal fraternity decided to mark April 18 (Tuesday) as a Black Day in protest against the suspension of the ‘Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, 2013’ by the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.
He said that for the last two decades the legal fraternity is continuously demanding for amendment in SC Rules, 1980, with respect to the exercise of powers by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan on frequently taking Suo Motu notices under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, which also includes discretionary powers with regard to constitution of benches and fixation of cases in urgent matters.
The legal fraternity had itself appealed to parliament to frame the law as provided under Article 191 of the Constitution in this regard after the SC had failed to do so itself.
He supported the notion of the lawyers that the proposed ‘Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, 2023’ is passed by parliament on the unanimous and consistent demand of the legal fraternity which will serve the interest of the public at large and shall advance the principle of independence of judiciary.
He said that it is matter of seriousness for the whole nation when the lawyers in their joint declaration say that ‘the six judges in the bench’ are those whose appointments were always questioned by the legal fraternity and so also by the members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan as the appointments were made by violating the principle of seniority and without laying down any criteria by amending the rules of the JCP, as being demanded for the last several years, adding that such orders of suspending the “act” would never be accepted by the legal fraternity.
The lawyers have also taken a serious note on the holding of the so-called ‘Roundtable conference’ by some of the politically motivated and disgruntled elements of the bar with political motives”. They had also taken serious note over the holding of a news conference by senior retired officers of the armed forces who have claimed to be in agreement with the serving officer with political motives, such efforts as it appears will lead to further accelerate the political crises and derail the entire constitutional process.
The PDP leader welcomed the government’s request for the withdrawal of the curative review against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
He supported the demand that the government and the ruling political parties should hold an All Parties Conference within parliament or outside and resolve the political and constitutional issues and hold free, fair, and transparent elections of the national and provincial assemblies at one time on the date to be agreed by all the political parties as per the mandate of the Constitution.
He said that it is correct that the political issues and crises are always to be resolved by the political parties through mutual deliberations and not through court of law.
He appealed to the honorable apex judges to show restraint from accelerating the political crisis by allowing time to the political parties to resolve the political issues and by recalling the interim orders suspending the proposed ‘Act’.
