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Friday March 29, 2024

Pakistan Bar Council to observe black day today

Military courts

By our correspondents
January 29, 2015
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Wednesday announced to observe a black day today (Thursday) across the country to protest against the military courts.
On the other hand, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Shafqat Chohan said the Constitution would be defended at all costs and no lawyer was going to appear before the military courts.
The PBC, in its 208th meeting held in Islamabad, condemned the amendments made in the Constitution and the Army Act for establishing the military courts.During the black day, the barmilitary courts.During the black day, the bar associations will also protest meetings and the will wear black bands while appearing before courts as a mark of protest.
Meanwhile, Azim Nazir Tarar, newly-elected vice-chairman of the council, addressed a press conference at the LHCBA and said laws already existed in the country - criminal, anti-terrorism and others - for eliminating terrorism from the country; hence, new legislations should be avoided.
He said the political parties by supporting the 21st Amendment for establishing military courts in the presence of a democratic government had disappointed the nation.Tarar said the jails are filled with innocent due to the glitches in the system, while the real criminals were moving freely, adding that there was a need to revamp the justice system.
He said it was a need of the hour that the Parliament, judiciary and other state institutions fulfilled their responsibilities and eliminated black sheep within their ranks.Similarly, Chohan said, “Defending the Constitution was political parties’ job but we are doing it. The PML-N has failed to defend the Constitution. No lawyer will appear in military courts,” he said this while talking to media men outside Supreme Court.
He said a convention of various bar associations to be held in Lahore on today (Thursday) would evolve the future strategy.On the occasion, Hamid Khan said whatever was the stance of his party (PTI), he has appeared in the court as a lawyer and he opposed the military courts as a lawyer.
He was of the opinion that the court had issued notices to the attorney general and others and any functioning of military courts till the submitting a reply to the notices would not be appropriate. They should wait for the apex court’s decision, he added.
Hamid said bar associations were shouldering the burden of the government’s job, adding that such matters could not be tolerated any longer. “This can hurt national integrity. The government should not worsen the situation by taking such steps.”
He said all the lawyers were united and had forged a unified stance on the issue. He warned that no one should remain under any delusion as the cases of political persons could also be forwarded to the military courts.