A critical view on the dogfight between lawyers and judges in Lahore – by Sikandar Mehdi
Unruly lawyers in Lahore are thrashing their best friends, i.e., journalists, and also police. Source: Express newspaper
Related articles on LUBP:
The unruly lawyers, for sale judges and the politics of briefcases – by Sikandar Mehdi
No entry for CJ Khwaja Sharif et al
Day before yesterday, I was sitting with a friend and all of a sudden we saw on the TV lawyers breaking courtroom windows in Lahore. The fuss was about the transfer of a judge from Lahore. Lawyers were demanding transfer of judge but the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court was not taking any action so lawyers decided to show their muscle. They knew they have strength, they also knew anything they do will be shown on the media with great commentaries. They also very well knew that high court judges will bow to their pressure because judiciary owes lawyers too much in return for their restoration. So the lawyers took the matter in their own hands. Lawyers protested in the courts and then broke the windows and the doors of of the LHC CJ.
While this was going on CJ Khwaja Sharif was in his court room and court was in session. They tried to enter his court room; reader and other staff locked the door from inside. They also beat up the registrar of LHC.
I demand all the pseudo legal experts who have been repeating article this and article that of the constitution to at least tell us under which Cr.pc. code do the lawyers get tried.
After watching the hoopla I started laughing and I said to my friend: don’t worry, this criminal act of the lawyers will be resolved by the High Court judges as they will send their one judge to the representative of bar and the issue will be patched up. And believe me it happened just like that. CJ Khwaja Sharif whose court room was attacked himself met with the president of the Lahore Bar Association and ordered the release of all the lawyers held by police. What a shame?. This is what you fought for, this is what you call independent judiciary held hostage to a bunch of low life lawyers.
Police which proved to be much more smarter acted promptly same night; they registered FIR’s and very next day sent the challans (cases) to the anti terrorist court. But next day some more altercation between lawyers and police took place and more lawyers were arrested (who were ordered to be released by Khawja Sharif).
So, dear readers here it is this independent judiciary instead of sending criminals to jail is holding negotiations with them. This is not the first time it happened; there are many other similar cases, e.g. in Faisalabad, Sargodha and Gujranwala.
The only cases or the only people who get tried by the courts are the ones belonging to PPP. If you want your case to be dealt in urgent manner somehow, get name of Zardari involved in it and then you will see the the speed of the case. It will get to final verdict in no time. It was always famous if you want to move your case faster in court use Quaid e Azam (i.e., money) but now it seems to be changing, new cliche is use the name of Zardari.
Pakistan’s current judiciary is butt of jokes; its erratic and egotistic behavior is putting the fragile system at stake. If they can’t prosecute the unruly and violent lawyers, then they have no right to prosecute anybody.
Recently the CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry made a statement if government doesn’t implement any of our orders then we should shut down the door of courts. In fact if the judges should wear bangles (choorian) and dopatta instead of shutting down the courts, they might get more respect.
Judiciary should get their own house in order before pointing fingers at others. When was it that media, the real culprit has shown the lower judiciary, their working, their corruption and their problems. Still a judge is bought rather than a lawyer. So what if media is just trying to make Khwaja Sharif and Iftikhar Choudhry heroes, their past can’t be hidden from the history and their current biased decisions are also proof of that. They are dishonets to their bones.
34 judges tender resignations in protest
Published: October 03, 2010
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MULTAN/MAILSI – Thirty-four judges of the lower judiciary, including an additional and sessions judge, tendered resignations in Multan and Mailsi against what they described as the unending terrorism by lawyers and the attack on the court Chief Justice Lahore High Court Khawaja Muhammad Sharif.
The 29 resignations, a senior civil judge while remaining are the civil judges, came from District Multan where their current total strength is 38 while Additional District and Sessions Mailsi Judge Rana Muhammad Arif and four civil judges also joined the protest to show solidarity with the bench.
The judges from Multan have sent the en bloc resignation to the LHC Registrar through District and Sessions Judge Multan and they include one senior and 28 civil judges. “To show our solidarity with our honourable LHC CJ and condemn the act of lawyers in Lahore, we tender our en block resignation as protest,” reads the collective resignation.
The judges who tendered their resignations include: Senior Civil Judge Ch Ziaullah along with civil judges Haider Ameen, Muhammad Ayyaz Malik, Muhammad Ilyas, Aftab Ahmad Rai, Muhammad Mushtaq, Shakeel Ahmad Sipra, Malik Muhammad Asif, Farhan Shakoor, Khurram Shahzad, Muhammad Ali, Qurban Ali, Hafiz Muhammad Zubair, Zara Manzoor Malik, Syed Ali Waqas Bukhari, Kashif Rasheed, Tanveer Hussain, Zaffar Farid, Ejaz Ahmad, Muhammad Fiaz, Yousuf Abdul Rehman and Mudassir Hassan (Multan), Zulfiqar Naeem, Inzamam Ali Ranjha, Mian Muhammad Ahmad and Muhammad Ajmal (Shujabad), Asadullah Siraj, Muhammad Amjad Khan and Kamran Karamat (Jalalpur Pirwala).
The resignations have come in reaction of an attack by the lawyers on the court of Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on September 20 during which, the black coats broke windowpanes, shouted slogans and made derogatory remarks against the CJ while he was presiding over his court.
There is alarming increase in the incidents of lawyers’ attacks on judges since the Faisalabad incident in April last, when a lawyer slapped a civil judge. The judges consider this incident a source of encouragement for the lawyers to attack the judicial officers.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/03-Oct-2010/34-judges-tender-resignations-in-protest
The former SCBA president Ali Ahmed Kurd said the lawyers did not take money from Babar Awan and Latif Khosa. He condemned the police’s excessive use of force against the protesting lawyers.
Baton charge and shelling over lawyers by the Punjab police will have multidimensional affects as relationship between bar and bench would see some change. Some lawyers have initiated a campaign to malign the judges after Friday’s violence in Lahore High Court Bar.
Political analysts say that the unrest will lend some leverage to the federal government and if the events prolong then the government could further buy time in already pending cases like implementation of December 16 judgment on NRO and appointment of Chairman NAB.
PPP sources revealed that emerging situation in LHC Bar Association would be useful for the government, which was seriously thinking to play up the situation by lending every possible support to lawyers.
People’s Lawyers Forum President Raja Abdul Rehman told TheNation, “If District and Sessions Judge Zawar Ahmed Shaikh had earlier been transferred then this situation would not have emerged.” He said: “Transferring a judge of subordinate judiciary is not a big issue.”
The consequence of the Punjab police action against lawyers would end the romance between Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and lawyers’ community.
The PML-N has been the backbone of lawyers’ movement, which had restored the apex judiciary twice after it was axed by the former dictator Musharraf. It is an open secret that PML-N had supported the lawyers’ movement and in return managed to grab the support of major chunk of lawyers’ community.
The incident would affect the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections, due at end of this month.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/03-Oct-2010/Anwar-links-Lahore-incidents-to-Babars-fund-distribution
It is also sad that the police is used in this mess. I honestly pity them for them being misused all the time. Reham aata hay!
Its sad…whats going on here…..
The honorable chief justice of Pakistan, Mr.Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s only force is the angry young lawyers, who doesn’t have any practice and who thrive only on the violence and trickery. They young lawyers, who are semi-literate, mostly hailing from the villages makes a peasant army for the chief justice Iftikhar. In his fight against the government and the parliament, the chief justice only relies upon these wild LLBs. He knows that if government goes ahead and uses its power to dislodge him (which government should have done long ago), his only bet would be these violent good-for-mess lawyers. Even Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan and Jamat-e-Islami would jump into the ring, if these lawyers rally forward. That is why CJP has ordered the bail of the lawyers who attacked his buddy Khawaja Shairf in Lahore yesterday. When the judges of lower courts are uniting against the persecution of Zwar Sheikh, the judge who is actual point of contention, the CJP is with the lawyers, because the lawyers outnumber judges by a fair margin. While judges and lawyers fight, the common man suffers.
لوگ دیکھ رہے ہیں حضور!
وسعت اللہ خان
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، کراچی
اب سے بتیس برس پہلے بھی ایل ایل بی ایک ڈگری کورس ہوا کرتا تھا۔ اس کی لا کالجز میں باقاعدہ کلاسیں ہوتی تھیں۔ امتحان میں بیٹھنے کے لئے ستر فیصد اٹینڈنس کا قانون بھی موجود تھا۔
لیکن بحیثیت طالبِ علم مجھے بہت حیرانی ہوتی تھی جب کراچی یونیورسٹی ہاسٹلز سال کے چند مخصوص دنوں میں ملک کے کونے کونے سے آنے والے مہمانوں سے بھر جایا کرتے تھے۔
یہ سب ایل ایل بی کے سالانہ امتحانات میں بیٹھنے کے لئے آتے تھے۔ ایک بھی کلاس اٹینڈ نہ کرنے کے باوجود ان سب کی سال بھر لا کالجز میں پروکسی اٹینڈنس لگتی رہتی تھی۔
بہت سے امیدوار ایسے بھی تھے جو ایک دن پہلے پوچھتے تھے کہ کل کس قانون کا پرچہ ہے اور اسی مضمون کے مطابق وہ خلاصوں اور امتحانی نوٹس کو رات بھر گھوٹ کر صبح امتحان دے آتے تھے اور پاس بھی ہو جاتے تھے۔
اس دور میں یہ تاثر ملک گیر تھا کہ کراچی میں ایل ایل بی کی ڈگریاں درختوں سے لٹکتی ہیں۔ بس انہیں ہاتھ بڑھا کر توڑنے کی زحمت کرنی ہے۔ اس تاثر کے سبب وہ امیدوار بھی شرمندہ شرمندہ رہتے تھے جو باقاعدہ محنت اور ستر فیصد حاضری کی شرط پوری کر کے امتحان میں بیٹھتے تھے۔
بعد میں سنا کہ ایل ایل بی اور ایل ایل ایم کرنے والے امیدواروں میں ڈسپلن پیدا کرنے کے لئے کورسز اپ ڈیٹ ہوئے۔ کنٹریکٹ پر قابل قانونی ماہرین کو تدریس کے لئے مقرر کیا جانے لگا۔ ایل ایل بی کا دورانیہ دو برس سے بڑھا کر تین سال کردیا گیا اور ستر فیصد اٹینڈنس کے قانون پر عمل درآمد میں بھی کچھ سختی ہونے لگی۔
تیس بتیس برس پہلے کے ایل ایل بی فری فار آل دور کے فارغ التحصیل لوگوں میں سے بہت سے پیشۂ وکلالت میں بھی آئے۔ کئی نے نام بھی پیدا کیا اور بہت سے ادنیٰ و اعلیٰ عدالتوں میں جج بھی بنے۔
لیکن یہ لوگ بھی بعد میں آنے والے وکلا کی اس نسل کے مقابلے میں بہرحال بہت غنیمت تھے جنہوں نے جب کوئی اور جگہ نہیں ملی تو کالا کوٹ پہن لیا۔ ایسوں کی وکالت بھی شارٹ کٹ وکالت تھی۔ مقدمے کی تاریخ آگے بڑھوا دی۔ جج اور سائل میں ڈیل کروا دی۔ فریقین میں تصفیہ کروا کر پیسے پکڑ لئے۔ ملی بھگت سے مقدمات بنوا دئیے پھر ضمانت کروا کر سائل کو احسان مند کر لیا وغیرہ وغیرہ۔
یہ سب بھی چل جاتا اگر نو مارچ دو ہزار سات نہ آتا۔ اس تاریخ کے بعد سے وکالت ایک قابلِ احترام پروفیشن بن گیا اور یہ تاثر بھی کسی حد تک دھل گیا کہ یہ طبقہ اصول و قانون کی حکمرانی سے زیادہ اپنی فیس یا دھاڑی کی فکر میں رہتا ہے۔
ہزاروں وکلا نے معاشی پریشانیاں بھی اٹھائیں مگر ثابت قدمی سے عدلیہ کی بحالی کی تحریک چلاتے رہے۔ تحریک کی کامیابی نے وکلا کو اپنی طاقت کا احساس دلایا مگر یہ طاقت تحریک کے آدرش کو اور مضبوط کرنے کے بجائے منفی انداز میں ظاہر ہونے لگی۔
ہزاروں وکلا نے معاشی پریشانیاں بھی اٹھائیں مگر ثابت قدمی سے عدلیہ کی بحالی کی تحریک چلاتے رہے۔ تحریک کی کامیابی نے وکلا کو اپنی طاقت کا احساس دلایا مگر یہ طاقت تحریک کے آدرش کو اور مضبوط کرنے کے بجائے منفی انداز میں ظاہر ہونے لگی۔
کبھی کسی جج کو کمرہ عدالت میں پیٹ ڈالا۔ کبھی کمرہِ عدالت پر تالا ڈال دیا۔ کبھی پولیس والوں کی پھینٹی لگا دی تو کبھی آپس میں ہی گتھم گتھا ہو کر سر پھاڑ ڈالے۔ کبھی ملزم کو عدالت کے احاطے سے چھڑوا کر فرار کروا دیا تو کبھی اپنے ہی ساتھی وکیل کی بطور ملزم گھریلو ملازمہ کے قتل کے مقدمے میں نامزدگی کے خلاف ریلی نکال دی۔
اس طرح کے جتنے افسوسناک واقعات گزشتہ ڈھائی برس میں ہوئے شاید ہی پچھلے ساٹھ سال کے کسی عشرے میں ہوئے ہوں۔
اس طرح کی خبروں کے سبب یہ تاثر ابھرنے لگا کہ وکلا قانون کی بالادستی کی جدوجہد سے دستبردار ہو کر ایک مافیا بنتے جا رہے ہیں۔ ان میں گروہ بندی کو ہوا دی جا رہی ہے۔ پیسہ بہا کر انہیں تقسیم کیا جا رہا ہے اور مختلف قوتیں انہیں عدلیہ کو مستحکم کرنے کے بجائے عدلیہ کو کمزور کرنے کا ہتھیار بنا رہی ہیں۔
ان حالات میں اگر وکلا ججوں کی تقرری و تبادلے کا اختیار بھی اپنے ہاتھ میں لینے کے لئے تشدد اور توڑ پھوڑ پر اتر آئیں تو پھر جنگل کے قانون اور مہذب دنیا کی روایات میں فرق کیسے کیا جائے۔
یقیناً لاہور میں وکلا پر ہونے والا تشدد قابلِ مذمت ہے لیکن مذاق پہلے کس نے شروع کیا تھا۔
جمہوری اور آمرانہ دور میں ایک ہی طرح سے ردِ عمل ظاہر کرنے اور اندھی طاقت کو اصولوں کی چادر پہنانے سے تو مسئلہ حل نہیں ہوگا۔ اتنی مشکل سے ہاتھ آئی عزت کو یوں تو نہ تار تار کیجئے ۔۔۔۔لوگ دیکھ رہے ہیں حضور ۔۔۔۔
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2010/10/101003_wusat_baat_sey_baat.shtml
In opinion there is only one person to blame in this current madness and that is LHC CJ Kh Sharif . LHC CJ has habit of calling meetings of Punjab police high up and tries to behave like a executive authority .
After tragic act of terrorism at Data Darbar he visit Darbar and examine the security situation there and our media called his acts as a act of elderly statesman and here again in this judge -lawyer tussle he called the police high up and next day it became fight between lawyer and policemen.