Gilgit:
The sitting of a lawyer outside the Secretariat of the Main Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan entered his sixth day on Saturday, since the school councils demanded immediate appointments of judges to the higher and lower courts in the region.
The protest, headed by the GB Bar Council, occurs in the midst of a growing accumulation of thousands of cases and prolonged prisoners of low trial prisoners. Lawyers say that judicial paralysis has persisted for more than five years, denying citizens their basic right to justice.
In the heart of the crisis is the Supreme Court of Appeals of GB, the highest judicial forum in the region, which is destined to have three judges, but has been operating with only one for almost half a decade. “This is nothing less than a collapse of the justice system,” said lawyer Zafar Iqbal, president of the GB Bar Council, while adding journalists in the protest camp.
The anger of the lawyers deepened after reports arose that the government was considering appointing a retired judge for the vacancy. The Council of the Bar Association rejected the proposal, insisting that the appointments are made within the fraternity of the lawyers.
However, Prime Minister Haji Gulbar Khan defended his government, saying that directives had already been issued to accept certain demands. He blamed the previous government for the prolonged delay in judicial appointments.
Adding weight to protest, former Prime Minister Hafeezur Rehman also visited the camp and punished past and present governments. “In civilized nations, judges even remain available on weekends only to guarantee justice,” he said. “Here, the years pass without judges. Those who expect in jail for justice, what will they do?”
The lawyers, backed by the Association of Lawyers of the Supreme Court of GB, have been boycotting judicial procedures for months. His letter of lawsuits includes the application of the Law of Lawyer Protection, establishment of family and consumption courts, and separation of judicial roles magistrates of the civil judge. They also accuse the government of going back in a 2011 promise of assigning land for lawyers.
Civil society groups have supported the protest, warning that the void in the Judiciary runs the risk of deepening public disappointment with the system.
The Board of Lawyers has promised to continue its sitting until all the demands are met.
