The issue of reinstating deposed judges can be resolved without any constitutional package, said President of Law Association for Asia and Pacific, based in Australia (LAWASIA) Mah Weng Kwai after a meeting with deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry here on Friday.
The five-member LAWASIA delegation, headed by Mah Weng Kwai, comprises Gordon Hughes, Prashant Kumar, Janet Neville and Christopher Leong. The delegation, which arrived in Lahore on Thursday for a five-day visit at the invitation of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), called on the deposed chief justice at his residence. Addressing the media, Kwai said that independent judiciary should have been the first and foremost priority of any country, but Pakistan was undergoing a judicial crisis.
"Our visit aims at understanding the current situation in Pakistan regarding the impact of an independent judiciary on the legal profession and rule of law. To have a better understanding of the situation, the delegation will also meet the Law Minister," he added. Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Munir A. Malik and Advocate Ather Minallah, spokesperson for the deposed chief justice were also present on the occasion.
The delegation is visiting Pakistan as a token of support and solidarity with legal fraternity in Pakistan for its continued struggle for the rule of law and restoration of judiciary, said the PCB. Athar Minallah said that the legal fraternity had peacefully been striving for the establishment of rule of law in the country. The struggle for the reinstatement of deposed judges would not end till the achievement of our goal, he added.