LAHORE, Jan 23: Former superior courts judges, lawyers and intellectuals stressed retaining the demand for boycott of the Feb 18 elections during ongoing movement for the restoration of the judiciary, at a moot arranged by former Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) secretary Shahid Mahmood Bhatti here on Wednesday.

The speakers underlined the need to mobilise the masses with or without the help of political parties, which, they believed, had erred in the past and been reluctant to learn lessons from previous mistakes. Expressing both skepticism and optimism over the outcome of the movement, the speakers, however, remained unanimous on continuing endeavours for the restoration of the pre-Nov 3 judiciary.

Speaking on the occasion, Justice Khalilur Rehman Khan, a former LHC chief justice and a judge of the Supreme Court who did not succumb to the allegiance of Jan 2000 edition of the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), asked the lawyers not to press for the boycott of the elections for the sake of their unity and success against the regime.

Justice Khan said the lawyers must beat General Musharraf (retired) at his own game by persuading the masses to vote only for those candidates who had pledged restoration of the judiciary as it was prior to Nov 3 version of the PCO after their election.

“You are all lawyers, and you know how to make a case according to its merits. You need to change your strategy in line with the changing situations,” he emphasised.

He said General Musharraf (retired) thought there was a little difference between his and God’s word. “He thinks whatever he says is a law, which is endorsed by handpicked judges,” he added.

The deposed Supreme Court judge lamented that the lawyers lacked unity, which drove home victory for the community in the shape of restoration of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on July 20. He added by letting go of their stance on boycott of the Feb 18 elections, the lawyers would be able to win back their unity.

He said it would have been better had the political parties boycotted the elections en bloc but the lack of consensus because of their agendas and interests divided them. The former apex court judge added that the caretaker government, which was an extension of the previous government, coupled with the local governments functionaries, provided the former rulers with a lot of room to manipulate the election results.

He said it should be ensured that the next assembly did not ratify the changes brought to the Constitution and acts of General Musharraf (retired) on Nov 3 and thereafter. He added he felt ashamed when he witnessed the ‘graduate’ assembly voting for the then chief of army staff for his election as the president of Pakistan.

He said a former judge, who had seen the bloody partition, called him up and said it would have been better for him if he had died instead of watching an assembly voting for a military general. He said the pervasive disarray in the state of affairs was engineered to divert people’s attention away from the core issue.

Justice Khan praised the lawyers for keeping up the struggle for the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary despite needling economic constraints.

Speaking on the occasion, eminent scholar Professor Mehdi Hassan said the credit for post-March 9 movement, which revived the independence of judiciary lost since 1954, went to the lawyers and judges. “It is naive to wish for an independent judiciary, when almost all institutions were in a shambles. It would be like building castles in the air,” he said.

He said the lawyers were united when the post-March 9 movement was launched but now neither the lawyers nor the judges carried one opinion on the restoration of the deposed superior courts judges. He added it would be impossible for the lawyers alone to succeed in their objectives unless they involved the people of Pakistan.

He lamented that the political parties had done little to improve the lot of the masses, which drove a wedge between the former and the latter. The political parties must understand that mere slogan of democracy would not bring in the desired changes, which required abiding by the Constitution and respecting opinions of others.

Dr Hassan said unless the judiciary from top to bottom provided relief to the common man, the democracy would not gain roots. “For democracy you need to create equal opportunities for everyone, besides guaranteeing basic rights for laying the foundation of a civilised society,” he said.

Shedding light over the consequences of popular movements, he said in the wake of the Pakistan National Alliance’s movement in 1977, the country witnessed 11 years of General Ziaul Haq’s martial law. When the Bangalis stood up for their rights in early 70s, we witnessed the creation of Bangladesh and the outcome of the post-March 9 movement was sacking of around 50 judges of the superior courts.

The inability of the political parties to provide people with a mechanism after a change multiplied the problems, he said.

Former LHC chief justice Mian Allah Nawaz said that politicians must be advised against going to the elections on the pitch prepared by the government, which had hand-picked election commissioner and his staff. He said the regime incarcerated the higher courts judges and placed curbs on the media when the judiciary got independence after March 9.

“It is time to take action. Today the people who want to see a submissive judiciary are afraid of your movement,” he said.

Justice Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokar (retired) said the lawyers’ movement must continue for the sake of independence of the judiciary. She added that in a situation when political process was virtually dead, the lawyers were carrying forward a dynamic concept of establishment of the rule of law, supremacy of the Constitution and independence of the judiciary.

Advocate SM Masood said the people in the subcontinent never had justice because of which the East India Company used the emblem of scale on its flag in 1835. He said the system of justice was reminiscent of the justice done by emperor Jehangir - penalising someone else for somebody else’s fault.

Advocate Malik Saeed Hasan said General Musharraf (retired) was the representative of well-organised authoritarian establishment.

Former LHCBA president Ahmad Awais said the judges who took oath under the PCO were mere “jobseekers”. He added the lawyers and politicians stood poles apart because the former were not ready to make a compromise with General Musharraf (retired) while the latter were willing.

Sahar Mahmood Bhatti advocate said the judiciary stood up for the rights of the people in the wake of movement erupted after March 9 and it should not be left in the lurch at this critical juncture. He said the restoration of the deposed judges was essential for the establishment of the rule of law, democracy and the state.

Host Shahid Mahmood Bhatti, Lahore Bar Association president Manzoor Qadir, former LHCBA secretary Ijaz Farosh and advocates Taqi Ahmad and Chaudhry Mahmood Ahmad also spoke on the occasion.