Lawyers Action Committee rejects JCP judge appointment process, announces nationwide movement

ISLAMABAD: The Lawyers Action Committee (LAC) on Saturday rejected the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s process for appointing judges to the high courts, calling it a deeply flawed exercise and announcing a nationwide movement on issues facing the country.

In a resolution adopted at a meeting in Islamabad, the committee said the current method of making high court appointments had become particularly troubling amid what it described as the damaging effects of the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments on the justice system. The resolution termed the appointment process horse trading and urged members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan who, in its words, still possessed a conscience not to take part in what it called a farce.

The committee also chose veteran lawyer and former Supreme Court Bar Association president Ali Ahmed Kurd to head the movement. Speaking to reporters at the Supreme Court alongside senior lawyers Hamid Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed and Abid Shahid Zuberi, Kurd said he had accepted the role reluctantly because of what he described as a collapse of public confidence in the justice system.

“I have accepted the leadership of the movement with a heavy heart at the insistence of my colleagues, particularly because the people of the country have lost faith in the justice system,”

Kurd said the movement would seek to engage the public, arguing that citizens were the real stakeholders in the justice system. He said the committee’s first public meeting would take place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and added that the LAC also intended to hold a programme in London at the invitation of overseas Pakistanis to highlight the issues behind the campaign.

Resolution criticises appointments and interview process

According to the resolution, appointments to the high courts had come to resemble Senate nominations, with positions allegedly awarded either for political loyalty or through financial influence. It said that if judges reached the high courts through political manoeuvring within the Judicial Commission rather than merit and integrity, the future of justice in Pakistan would be at risk.

The resolution also described the interview process as a mockery, alleging that interviews were being conducted in camera and that several members of the Judicial Commission had been left out of the interview committee, creating room for what it called the selection of blatantly unqualified candidates.

Concerns over security, detentions and bar elections

The committee also raised concern over the worsening security situation in Balochistan and the deaths of dozens of people in recurring terrorist attacks. Its resolution said the pursuit of a hard state had alienated large sections of the population in affected regions, caused loss of life and security, and deepened grievances that were being exploited by others.

It called for a fact-finding commission for troubled regions to identify local issues and grievances and to hold public consultations on possible remedies. The resolution further alleged that the continued incarceration of lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, as well as political figures including former prime minister Imran Khan, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mahrang Baloch and Ali Wazir, showed an absence of ideas for dealing with dissenting voices. It also criticised what it called the silence and complicity of the judiciary, the legal fraternity and political parties in the face of blatant injustice.

The resolution said the current situation was entirely unsustainable and was pushing the country towards what it described as an irreversible catastrophe. It also condemned what it called repeated attempts by the Pakistan Bar Council and provincial bar councils to obstruct and rig bar association elections where they expected an unfavourable result.

The committee demanded that all bar elections be held on schedule and in line with the law, with Nadra verification. It also called for the removal from the rolls of purported advocates holding fake degrees or other jobs, and demanded a complete ban on voting by people with dual memberships in different bar associations.

The LAC also announced support for the ongoing sit-in at Babarlo in Sindh over the disappearance of Priya Kumari and others, and called on the Sindh government to respect minority rights and address what it termed their legitimate grievances.