RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi District Bar Association has demanded formal participation in the appointment of judges of the Lahore High Court and Islamabad High Court, stating that the Rawalpindi Bar has always been ignored in judicial appointments.
He warned that continued neglect would be challenged at all levels and protests would take place on all scales.
Bar Association President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan and Secretary Qamar Khan Niazi, along with Vice-President Nazia Yasin Hashmi, Joint Secretary Ahsan Saleem and members of the executive body, expressed these views at a joint press conference.
They said a ban on judges visiting district bars has been imposed as part of a conspiracy to divide the bar and judiciary, adding that lawyers will not allow this to succeed and the notification restricting entry of judges into bars should be withdrawn.
They said the Rawalpindi Bar has been ignored in judicial appointments for over a decade, leading to highly experienced and competent lawyers being overlooked.
They added that the bars must unite to guarantee their rightful share in the judiciary. While lawyers from Multan and Bahawalpur sit in the Lahore High Court, the Rawalpindi Bar – the third largest in Pakistan and the second largest in Punjab – continues to be ignored.
They said that the Rawalpindi Bar Association has always played an effective role in upholding constitutional supremacy, rule of law and judicial independence.
The Bar currently has 9,000 lawyers whose capacity is wasted. They said names such as Khalid Mahmood Abbasi, Agha Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Bashir Paracha and Raja Ghazanfar had been removed from the list of judicial appointments.
They added that the Rawalpindi Bar Association has produced several notable judges and lawyers, including Justice Waqas Rauf, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Sardar Aslam, Justice (retd) Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Justice (retd) Ibadur Rehman Lodhi, Rab Nawaz Noon, Sardar Ishaq and Chaudhry Zamarrud, who played exemplary roles. They alleged that the abilities of several lawyers, including Malik Waheed Anjum and Basharatullah Khan, were wasted in a conspiracy.
Addressing the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Judicial Commission, they said the Rawalpindi Bar would no longer remain a silent spectator and demanded that four seats in the Lahore High Court be allocated to it.
