Vice Chairman of Pakistan Bar Council, Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig, on Tuesday, condemned amendments to Pakistan Army Act regarding the establishment of military courts for trying civilians and demanded immediate withdrawal of such undemocratic and unconstitutional laws.
"We condemn the amendment in army act for the court-martial of civilians because it is an attempt to introduce the daraconian law," Baig said. He said that lawyers decided to boycott proceedings of the Supreme Court and High Courts of the country till November 16, fully endorsing call of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).
Aziz Akbar Baig demanded for the establishment of a caretaker government and the holding of general elections in free, fair and impartial manners. He said that such steps are meaningless unless the emergency and Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) are not first withdrawn. He termed it a fraud being perpetrated on the people of the country.
The PBC vice chairman also appealed to its members to ostracise those persons who have taken oath under the PCO and those lawyers who are not following the decision of bar councils and associations. He appealed to all political parties to adopt a united stand to launch a countrywide movement for withdrawal of the emergency, PCO, amendments to the Army and Bar Council Acts, and the restoration of the judiciary as it existed on November 2. He took strong exception to the proposed amendments to the Bar Council Act that empowers judges to grant, suspend or cancel licenses of Advocates.