LARKANA/HYDER­ABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Sindh general secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro has opposed appointment of ad hoc judges to Sindh High Court with domiciles of provinces other than Sindh.

In a press statement issued here on Sunday, he said the decision was against the law and demanded appointment of Sindh-domiciled judges. His party would oppose appointment of additional judges having domiciles of Azad Kashmir and other provinces, he said.

He urged Supreme Judicial Council and Chief Justice of Supreme Court to take notice of the decision. Only Sindh-domiciled judges and lawyers should be made additional judges in SHC on merit, he stressed.

He said that Sindh Bar Council should also take notice of the move and JUI-F would stand by lawyers if they decided to launch a movement against it.

STP rejects the move

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) chairman Dr Qadir Magsi said recommendation of lawyers with Azad Kashmir domiciles for elevation as judges in SHC was an injustice with lawyers of Sindh.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Dr Magsi said that PPP had played a role in posting of non-Sindhi officers to important positions. People from other provinces were imported for occupying posts of advisers and vice-chancellors, he said.

He said that even seats in Senate were offered to people from other provinces. Now names of lawyers who belonged to provinces other than Sindh were recommended for elevation as judges.

He said the recommendations were made over ‘sifarish’ and wondered why it was done with Sindh alone and whether any Sindhi speaking person was appointed in high courts of other provinces to justify such elevation.

Dr Magsi said that Sindh had no dearth of lawyers with integrity and ability and they were perhaps were competent than others.

He called for reversal of the decision which smacked of blatant parochialism.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2022