PESHAWAR, July 16: Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said here on Monday that the country was passing through crises but in presence of independent judiciary its geographic boundaries would remain intact.

He was addressing the oath taking ceremony of Peshawar District Bar Association (PDBA).

“We want that democracy should prosper in this country but some decisions made by the past and present rulers have been pushing the country towards crisis,” he said, adding that he did not want to go in detail as they (lawyers) had been observing the situation daily.

The PHC chief justice also inaugurated the Bar Complex that includes a barroom, library and car park.

He said that fundamental rights were available to all individuals and the constitution did not allow any institution to violate it.

“We lay hand on such agencies against whom several institutions were scared to take any action in the past. By grace of Almighty Allah the courage shown by us has given fruitful results,” he said.

The PHC chief justice stated that they had no enmity with those agencies but they had told them in clear terms to follow law and constitution as there was no other option available to them.

He stated that judiciary was the first institution, which had included in its code of conduct that the judges would not support any unconstitutional act. If they supported it they had to lose their office, he added.

The chief justice vowed that the judiciary would defend the country in time of need along with other citizens. However, he added that the leadership should also take notice of the situation seriously and make vital decisions accordingly. “Whenever countries face crises it is the leadership which steer them out of the crises,” he added.

Justice Dost Mohammad told the judges of subordinate judiciary that masses had shown trust in the judicial system and it was up to them to maintain that trust through their just and impartial decisions.

He said that Almighty Allah had bestowed great responsibility on judges and they were even empowered to take away life of individuals in criminal cases by awarding death sentences. “You have to exercise your powers with great cautious and care. You should follow code of conduct and try to keep your social contacts as minimum as possible,” he added.

The PHC chief justice said that major stakeholders in the judicial system were litigants as they had given employment to around 140,000 lawyers in the country. Apart from lawyers, there was a large number of other people, who got jobs because of litigants and thus litigants had turned into the largest private sector employer in Pakistan, he added.

He asked lawyers to pay respect to litigants as their jobs were attached with them.

Justice Dost Mohammad stated that both the bar and bench were inseparable from each other. He added that the relationship further strengthened after March 2007 when the then dictator had hatched conspiracy against the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

The PHC chief justice asked lawyers to avoid frivolous litigation and properly guide their clients about cases as it would help in reducing burden of unnecessary litigation on the judiciary. He added that it was his resolve to take the bar to a high pedestal and enhance its prestige and respect.

He also spoke about setting up of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy, which is likely to be inaugurated on July 19. He said that all stakeholders attached with judicial system would be trained there.

He said that they also wanted to introduce prison reforms through the said academy by training all the staffers of prison department starting from peon to the inspector general. He added that he had also delivered a judgment directing the government to upgrade the public sector Khyber Law College to university level.

PDBA president Wakil Zaman Khattak and general secretary Shah Faisal Uthmankhel also addressed the ceremony and thanked the chief justice for showing keen interest in resolving the issues of lawyers.