Sindh judges' pay should be equivalent to Punjab: CJP

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Thursday said that all decisions will be made in accordance with the Constitution. The Chief Justice of Pakistan was addressing as chief guest at the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected office-bearers of Karachi Bar Association (KBA) here.
Justice Iftikhar said aside from supremacy of the law and Constitution, no law can prevail in the country. He said we are moving towards the destination and the day is not far when we will attain our goal. Earlier, Chief Justice Sindh High Court, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, President KBA, Mehmood-ul-Hassan and General Secretary KBA, Salahuddin also spoke.
Chief Justice, Federal Shariat Court, Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, judges of the apex court including, Justice Ghulam Rabbani, Senior Puisne Judge of the SHC, Justice Mushir Alam, judges of the sub-ordinate courts, President of Sindh High Court Bar Association, former Justice Rasheed A Rizvi and other notables were also present.
The Chief Justice said the lawyers had presented many sacrifices from March 9, 2007 to March 16, 2009, which, he said are matchless. He recalled that the lawyers had presented sacrifices of their lives on May 12 and April 9. He said 95 percent of the litigants move to the sub-ordinate courts and the performance of the sub-ordinate courts has been improved during the last one year. If the same spirit is maintained then we will achieve our target, he added.
Justice Iftikhar said that the judiciary faced uncountable problems after March 12, 2009, however, efforts are being made to resolve the problems through the Judicial Policy. He said no heed had been paid to the judicial reforms during past 10 years. The Chief Justice also said the salaries of the judges and staff of sub-ordinate courts in Sindh should be equivalent to the salaries of the same in Punjab.
Justice Iftikhar called for unity among the bar associations and said only a powerful bar is guarantee of an independent judiciary. Earlier, CJ SHC, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany said dispensation of justice is our mission. To accomplish this mission the Judicial Policy is being followed, Osmany added.