The Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association on Monday revised their stand and partially ended their 100-day boycott of the courts. PBC said that it had revised its mode of protest "in view of the misery of persons falsely accused of criminal cases and hardships of litigants seeking determination of their genuine claims".
The PBC announced decisions of its 169th meeting held on January 13, 2008 at 12-00 noon in the premises of Peshawar High Court Bar Association, Peshawar, under the chairmanship of PBC vice chairman Aziz Akbar Baig. The PBC resolved to continue boycott of the courts in the following manner:
(i) There will be complete boycott of the courts on every Thursday of the week.
(ii) There will be one-hour boycott of the courts from 10.30 to 11.30 am on every day of the week.
HOWEVER, THE PBC SAID THAT:
(a) This is not a direction to appear before the courts on other days and time but only a concession in public interest in view of the misery of persons falsely accused of criminal cases and hardship of litigants seeking determination of their genuine claims.
(b) This call is the minimum boycott call for all the bar associations.
(c) This concession does not constitute recognition of Judges who took oath under the PCO as what PBC called as "valid and constitutional judges"
3.The PBC said that all Associations in the country shall hold general body meetings and take out processions and rallies outside the court premises every Thursday.
4.It said that every bar association should form a hunger strike camp where at least two members shall sit in hunger strike for at least two hours every day.
5. No bar association shall invite any judge in bar functions, and office-bearers of all bar associations shall boycott all functions of judges who had taken oath under the PCO.
6. The Council decided to hold national conventions at Islamabad and the Provincial Capitals to advance the cause of restoration of judiciary of 2 November 2007. First convention will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Islamabad, which will be followed by a march of lawyers to the residence of the "Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry".
7. The Council demanded immediate release of Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmad Kurd and Tariq Mahmood and other political prisoners in the country.
In its resolution adopted by majority voted, the council said: the lawyers fraternity in Pakistan stand by the judges who refused to take oath under PCO; and it recognised Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges who did not take oath under PCO on or after 3 November 2007 as judges of the Supreme Court under the Constitution.
The resolution further stated that the lawyers recognised the Chief Justices Tariq Parvez and Sabihuddin Ahmad and judges of the Peshawar and Sindh High Courts who did not take oath under PCO on and after 3 November 2007 as valid and constitutional judges and refused to recognise those persons as judges who took oath under PCO on or after 3 November 2007.
FOLLOWING MEMBERS OF THE PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL ATTENDED THE MEETING:
(1) Aziz Akbar Baig from Multan
(2) Muhammad Anwar from Peshawar
(3)Safir Ullah Khan from Peshawar
(4) Syed Rahman from Peshawar
(5) Fazal-i-Haq Abbasi from Abbottabad
(6) Muhammad Ashraf Wahlah from Lahore
(7) Dr A. Khalid Ranjha from Lahore
(8) Muhammad Latif Khosa from Lahore
(9) Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon from Lahore
(10) Qalb-i-Hassan from Rawalpindi
(11) Muhammad Ramzan from Lahore
(12) Hamid Khan from Lahore
(13) Muhammad Kazim Khan from Lahore
(14) Rasheed A Razvi from Karachi
(15) Abu'l Inam from Karachi
(16) Imdad Ali Awan from Sukkur
(17) Muhammad Yasin Azad from Karachi
(18) Farooq H. Naek from Karachi
The Secretary Supreme Court Bar Association Amin Javed told Business Recorder that the SCBA and PBC could revised its decision if it felt that their movement for independence of judiciary was affected by the end of the boycott.