KARACHI: Karachi Bar Association becomes the first organization of lawyers which has called a General Body meeting on Saturday to consider the situation arising out of letter by six judges of Islamabad High Court addressed to Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The other representative bodies of lawyers may also follow the course and jointly arrive at a common strategy to address the issue highlighted by the six sitting judges and launching a movement identical to one waged for restoration of expelled Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as hinted by stalwart lawyer leader Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.
So far the eminent lawyers and community in general has rejected the government’s move to form a commission headed by a a retired judge of Supreme Court to probe into the allegations of interference, intimidation, spying and other activities aimed at getting decisions of choice.
Another commission, another report and the issue will become history as Pakistan has saw a number of commissions in its 72 years history including the most known Hamood-ur-Rahman Commission, report of which was never published nor implemented. The other commissions like one which probed the death of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and another three member juduicial commission headed by sitting judges which probed Mir Murtaza Bhutto killing case failed to deliver any change.
Pakistan presently has a law “Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act 2017” but the commission’s mandate is limited to giving recommendations and not beyond leaving the implementations a government choice.
The apex court has shifted the burden onto the government as after a meeting between Chief Justice of Pakistan and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, it was decided that government will take measures to ensure the independence of judiciary.
A statement issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan after a full court meeting says that Prime Minister has assured measures including directions to the relevant departments and legislations in accordance with the para 53 of the Suo Motu in Faizabad sit-in case rendered by then Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
The above referred para requires of the government “to enact laws which clearly stipulates the respective mandate of the intelligence agencies”. This gives rise to a question that who will bell the cat and the plausible answer is a lawyer movement building a national consensus and forcing the relevant quarters to tame their operatives.