GILGIT: Lawyers bodies in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) have further extended their protest strike for the implementation of their demands, boycotting court proceedings across the region until May 12. However, the lawyers have postponed their planned protest demonstration on May 5 in light of the current situation between India and Pakistan.
The GB lawyers’ bodies had recently extended their strike until May 5.According to a press release issued on Saturday, a meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council was held with its Vice Chairman Syed Riaz Ahmed in the chair.
The participants of the meeting condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations against Pakistan.They vowed that the region’s legal fraternity and the public would sacrifice their lives if India dared to commit any aggression against Pakistan.
The press release further stated that in the context of the current uncertainty, lawyers have postponed their planned protest demonstration on May 5.However, it added that the ongoing protest strike, boycotting court proceedings, has been extended to May 12.
It said the GB Supreme Appellate Court Bar Association, GB High Court Bar Association and district bar associations have endorsed the decision.Lawyers’ bodies in the region have been protesting for the past six months for the implementation of their demands.
These include the long-delayed appointments of judges in the GB Supreme Appellate Court, the establishment of special courts including family and consumer courts, the advertisement of vacant civil judge positions and the separation of judicial magistrate posts from civil judge posts — as practiced in other parts of the country — with appointments made from the legal fraternity on merit.
Lawyers are also demanding the extension of the Lawyers Protection Act to Gilgit-Baltistan by the federal government, calling it essential for ensuring their safety and professional rights.Senior lawyer Islamuddin Shah told Dawn that litigants in the region have been suffering due to the lawyers’ boycott of court proceedings.
He said important and urgent cases are pending in the courts.Mr Shah added that these are public demands raised by the legal fraternity in the region.He held the GB government responsible for the failure to implement the lawyers’ demands despite earlier acceptance. Lawyers warned that the protest would be intensified if their demands are further delayed.
The GB government had challenged appointments of GB higher judiciary judges in the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the Supreme Court issued a stay order. However, on Thursday the Supreme Court lifted the stay order on appointments of GB judges in higher judiciary after the attorney general for Pakistan and the advocate general of Gilgit-Baltistan reached an understanding on the procedure for appointments.
The Supreme Court was assured that two judges would be appointed on the vacant positions in GB Supreme Appellate Court and one judge in the GB Chief Court within one month. The lawyers’ leaders announced on Monday that the protest will be called off after fulfilment of all their demands.
