Lawyers' community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Saturday rejected the KP Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2019 and KP Control Narcotics Substance Act, 2019 and announced a three-day strike against these legislations promulgated by the provincial government.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the KP Bar Council(KBC) held here with vice chairman, Saeed Khan in the chair. Besides, the chairman, Executive Committee, Pakistan Bar Council, Sher Mohammad advocate, president, Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) Abdul Latif Afridi, the presidents of all district bar, tehsil bar associations and high court bar associations of Mingora, Bannu and D.I. Khan benches attended.
The meeting rejected both amendments outrightly and pinpointed that both legislations are contravened to those rights provided under the Constitution of Pakistan and will also put financial and physical effects on the general public.
The implementation of new acts of laws, the lawyers said will also overburden the already overloaded Peshawar High Court (PHC). They said that the provincial government before the promulgation of these laws has neither take bar associations nor bar council.
Briefing the media regarding decisions taken during the meeting, vice chairman KP Bar Council, Saeed Khan advocate and President, PHCBA, Abdul Latif Afridi advocate said that though the preamble of the news laws states that it would provide speedy and cheap justice, but in reality it will turn the provision of justice to the people more difficult and their financial expenditures will increase.
They warned the government to withdraw these acts of law with immediate effect or amendments were not introduced in it in consultations with lawyers community, then they will stage a province-wide protest and will take people into confidence before taking streets against it.
A unanimous resolution was also presented in the meeting that cheap and speedy justice could be guaranteed even if the existing laws were implemented in letter and spirit.
The meeting also asked the government to refrain from using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as laboratory anymore as the people of the province have also been remained the victims of terrorism. Therefore, the government should refrain from taking more tests in the province.
The meeting has also decided a three-day strike against these laws from December 9 to December 11, 2019. The protest, they said will not limited to only bar rooms, rather the lawyers will also stage protests in the nearby bazaars and in front of press clubs of their concerned city.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019