PESHAWAR: The lawyers observed a strike across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday on the call of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC) against the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) regarding the suspension of the powers of the Peshawar High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution.
A meeting of lawyers organised by the Peshawar High Court Bar Association was also held, with participants threatening an indefinitestrike in case the powers of the high court aren’t restored by Nov 16.
The lawyers mostly stayed away from the courts, including the Peshawar High Court at its principal seat in Peshawar and benches in other cities.
The decision to boycott courts in the province was taken by the KPBC in an emergency general body meeting chaired by its vice-chairman, Mohammad Rafiq, on Nov 7.
The KPBC’s meeting, also attended by chairman of its executive committee Sardar Waqarul Mulk and other members, had voiced concern about the FCC decision regarding the suspension of the PHC’s powers whereby it was restrained from proceeding with petitions under Article 199 of the Constitution.
It maintained that the decision had usurped the basic rights in KP and that it was a great injustice tothe people ofthe province.
The council said that it opposed undemocratic actions like the governor’s rule and emergency in the province and would raise its voice on every forum for restoration of democracy.
It also said that it had filed an application with the Federal Constitutional Court to become a party in the case related to casesregistered under section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance.
The application has been filed through Bar Council member Babar Khan Yousafzai, in which along with becoming a party in the said cases, a request has been made to restore the constitutional jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Article 199 of the Constitution.
The council had passed a resolution in its general body meeting for filing the said application.Meanwhile, a meeting of the representatives of different bar associations was held here on the premises of the PHC under the chairmanship of PHCBA president Aminur Rahman Yousafzai, which examined the situation emerging from the FCC’s order.
The meeting was attended by presidents of Peshawar High Court Bar Associations of Peshawar and its circuit benches at Bannu, Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan, general secretaries of Peshawar, Bannu and Abbottabad benches and presidents and general secretaries of bar associations of different districts.
Member of Pakistan Bar Council Naveed Akhtar and that of KPBC Babar Khan Yousafzai also attended the meeting. The participants expressed their views on the matter and made proposals.
The meeting unanimously decided that the struggle of law-yers’ bodies would continue until the restoration of the high court powers under Article 199 of the Constitution.
It demanded that the matter pending with the FCC be taken up for hearing today (Wednesday).
The meeting de cided that PHCBA President Aminur Rahman would contact all stakeholders to ask them to play their role in restoring the PHC powers until Nov 16.
It also decided that the PHC bar associations would become party to the matter pending before the FCC.
It also made a decision to convene an All Pakistan Lawyers Convention under the supervision of all the bar councils in the country.
Last Thursday, a two-member FCC bench declared: ‘Since the armed forces have been called to act in aid of civil power in the entire province of KP pursuant to the Oct 11 order, the proceedings before PHC insti-tuted under Article 199 on or after Oct 12 shall, in terms of Clause 4 of Article 245, remain suspended.
Following the FCC order, the PHC’s administrative committee on Friday decided not to proceed with petitions filed under Article 199 on or after Oct 12. It also decided not to entertain fresh petitions and return them to petitioners, directing them to approach the ‘appropriate’ forum.
The decision has affected several high-profile cases filed under Article 199, including petitions against the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP. It also hit petitions regarding the alleged illegal detention or ‘abduction’ of nonfunctional chief minister Sohail Afridi, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and several other PTI lawmakers and leaders.
Bureau Report