Describes recent events as “the darkest day in Pakistan’s judicial history”
LAHORE:
The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) and the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) have strongly criticized the transfer of three Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges to provincial high courts and the constitutional amendments, terming them a threat to judicial independence.
In a press conference on Wednesday, LHCBA secretary Qasim Ijaz Sammra condemned the transfers carried out without the consent of the judges and alleged that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had undermined the independence of the judiciary.
“Lawyers will raise a strong voice against these measures and will continue their fight to safeguard judicial autonomy,” he said.
LHCBA president Babar Murtaza said the legal fraternity had resisted such amendments for the past two years, claiming that the basic structure of the Constitution had been altered.
He criticized the judicial transfer process and warned that arbitrary seniority decisions could undermine institutional integrity. He also announced that lawyers would hold a protest demonstration against the decisions.
LBA president Irfan Hayat Bajwa described recent events as “the darkest day in Pakistan’s judicial history”, outright rejecting the constitutional amendments.
He claimed that petitions filed against the amendments were yet to be heard and claimed that even the Chief Justice of Pakistan had realized a loss of authority.
