A lawyer, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Jinnah, had carved out Pakistan on the world map out of nowhere through his principled and statesman like leadership. Now, the lawyers are out on the streets for, what they describe, struggle to save Pakistan through restoration of the Constitution and democracy.
This they are doing in furtherance of their obligations towards the nation and the country. One cannot doubt their spirit of patriotism indeed. They are as patriotic as anyone else in the width and breadth of Pakistan.
But in all fairness they also have obligations towards their clients which somehow they are overlooking in the prevailing circumstances. Litigants come from far-flung areas as well as urban areas to acquire services of the black coats for redressal of sorts of their grievances.
For getting their problems resolved, they pay hard money to the lawyers and also meet all their demands and requirements also in order to secure victory over their rivals. But the litigants are at a great loss for quite sometime. Their cases are pending in the courts for varying periods. The courts are also open. But their lawyers are somehow missing.
This is certainly and surely not fair on the part of the black courts. Lawyers had by and large stayed away from the courts during months of March to July this year following a presidential reference against the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and launched a protest movement for restoration of the CJP, in the process most of time staying away from the court.
Lawyers are again out there on the roads to protest against proclamation of a state of Emergency and issuance of the PCO by President Pervez Musharraf some days back. Again the courts are open, the poor and rich clients are there but the lawyers are not to be found to plead their cases.
Whatever the lawyers may be doing, they have prime obligations towards their clients who should not be forced to suffer unnecessary delays in the disposal of their cases. The clients only "crime" is hiring of the services of the black courts for pleading their cases in the courts and they are being asked to pay still higher price by longer wait as the lawyers are protesting on the roads and not appearing in the courts which are open.
This is indeed very unfair on the part of the lawyers as for as their obligations towards lawyers are concerned, indeed.