Punjab governor, chief minister meet CJP: 'matters of mutual interest discussed'

As the lawyers movement has assumed an authoratative and threatening posture following Murree Declaration of PPP/PML (N) coalition partners, Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool and caretaker Chief Minister Ejaz Nisar held a meeting with Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar here on Saturday.
Supreme Court Lahore Registry Deputy Registrar said they discussed matters of "mutual" interest. Supreme Court Judges Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Mohammad Akhtar Shabbir were also present in the meeting.
Earlier, Justice Dogar presided over a meeting of the Chief Justices Committee in Islamabad on Friday wherein CJs reposed confidence and trust in the leadership of the Chief Justice Dogar and extended their full support and co-operation.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHBA) held an All Pakistan Lawyers Convention on the question of restoration of judiciary as it was on November 2, 2007 here on Saturday. The lawyers' leaders and representatives of various bar association said that they would give the government one month to restore the deposed judiciary otherwise it would restart its struggle.
It may be added that Asif Ali Zardari and Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif signed a joint declaration on March 9 in Murree on behalf of their respective parties, Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) that they would restore the pre-3 November judiciary in a month after forming the coalition government. The newly elected National Assembly is holding its inaugural session in Islamabad on Monday and the "judges" issue would dominate the proceedings. However, a seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar has already passed an order that the "retired" judges could not be re-instated.
In its order of November 23, 2007 the Court said; We declare "the action in respect of the former Chief Justice and former Judges has attained finality and being a fait accompli the same is even otherwise not reversible.
The court further said "We, reaffirm, uphold and validate the action taken by the President under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 in the light of the law laid down in Zafar Ali Shah's case. Upon Proclamation of Emergency, the Provisional Constitution Order and the Oath of Office (Judges) Order of 2007, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan and other former Judges of superior Courts had ceased to hold office.
Thereafter, any order passed or function performed by them was void, coram non judice and of no legal effect or consequence. The court said "the learned Chief Justices and Judges of the superior courts, (Supreme Court of Pakistan, Federal Shariat Court and the High Courts), who have not been given, and who have not made, oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 have ceased to hold their respective offices on November 3, 2007. Their cases cannot be re-opened being hit by the doctrine of past and closed transaction"
The analysts say that the battle lines have been clearly drawn. On the one side is the President's camp and the sitting judges of the Supreme Court, Federal Court and five High Courts. On the other side is the Parliament, all parties democratic movement (APDM) and the legal fraternity.
They say that if the coalition government tried to restore the pre-November 3 Judiciary, the President's camp would block the move on the strength of the PCO supreme court judgement. Lawyers say that the present courts may be de-facto but not de-jure courts and no judge can be judge in his own cause.
They say that the incumbent judges could be removed by an executive order and there was no need of any amendment in the constitution as the Parliament has not validated the PCO and the proclamation of emergency, nor the new oath of judges.