Strong judiciary imperative for parliament: Aitzaz

RAWALPINDI—President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said Thursday that a strong judiciary is vital for a powerful parliament.
Addressing a convention of lawyers organized by the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Rawalpindi, he rejected the view that two third majority in parliament was necessary for restoration of deposed judges. He said the restoration could be done without taking the matter to the parliament.
A large number of lawyers and presidents of various Bar associations including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Gojar Khan,, Kahuta, Sohawa and Jhelum attended the convention.
President High Court Bar Association Sardar Asmat Ullah Khan, General Secretary Siddique Awan and several MNAs-elect including Muhammad Hanif Abbasi were also present. Barrister Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan lauded the movement of the lawyers’ community for the supremacy of constitution and restoration of judiciary in real shape.
“We do not want any conflict with the parliament,” he said, adding that a powerful parliament could not be built on “the debris” of judiciary. He said those talking of two-third majority for restoration of judiciary wanted to create a conflict between the parliament and judiciary. The SCBA leader said of the four important pillars of the state—judiciary, parliament, establishment and media—it was the establishment which always crosses its limits.
Former Justice retired Wajihuddin Ahmed on Thursday underlined that two-third majority in Parliament is not required for reinstating the deposed Judges, including deposed CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Former Justice retired Wajihuddin Ahmed expressed these views while addressing Lahore High Court Bar Session on Thursday.
He was of the view that Legal Fraternity would continue their gigantic struggle against Pervez Musharraf and they would take legal action against him for removing the honourable Judges. Masses with their clear mandate has shown that they dislike him (Musharrraf) adding that movement to release Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan will continue, he held.
We are giving new Government six months to solve the thorny crisis of Judges urging if PPP and PML-N fails to produce fruitful results then country will plunge into deep crisis, Former Justice retired Wajihuddin Ahmed stressed.
A firebrand Pakistani lawyer leading a movement against President Pervez Musharraf urged the United States and Britain Thursday to end their support for the “war on terror” ally.
Aitzaz Ahsan, who was released from house arrest last week after being held since emergency rule was imposed in November, was speaking to a rally of 500 black-suited attorneys at a court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
“I am at a loss to understand why the US and UK are trying to stitch together alliances to save Pervez Musharraf,” Ahsan, the head of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association and a former minister, told the crowd.
He said Washington and London were trying to ensure the political survival of Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, after the president’s allies suffered a heavy defeat in last month’s elections. “He is no longer the army chief, he has been rejected by his own people, he is the most unpopular and hated person,” Ahsan said.
Musharraf has been backed by US President George W. Bush since abandoning Pakistan’s support for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The lawyer accused the United States and Britain of “condoning” the detention of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom Musharraf ousted in November under the state of emergency. Addressing the two Western nations directly, he said: “You people are fighting a ‘war on terror’ and should therefore know that the most effective weapon in such a war is empowered people with enforceable rights.”