KARACHI/HYDERABAD: Members of the legal fraternity observed a complete strike on Friday at the City Courts in solidarity with Supreme Court judges Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah who tendered resignations in protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
The Karachi Bar Association had given a call for a full-day strike and requested the members to stay away from courts to record a strong protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
On a call given by the Sindh Bar Council, the KBA announced that lawyers would observe a complete strike today (Saturday) as well in pursuance of the resolution passed at the recent lawyers’ convention over the 27th Amendment.
Speaking at a press conference, KBA General Secretary Muhammad Ghulam Rehman Korai criticised the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, saying that laws drafted on a “piece of paper” were passed in parliament within 10 to 15 minutes.
He expressed concern over the recent amendment to the Article 6, noting that the assembly was informed the other day that the amendment could no longer be challenged in court. Korai saluted Justice Minallah and Justice Shah, whom, he said, the Karachi Bar had invited for seminars earlier this year.
He said he was heading to Sukkur for a convention where the next steps regarding the protest movement would be finalised. Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) General Secretary Mirza Sarfraz also criticised the creation of the constitutional court, lamenting that the constitution bench previously constituted was yet to decide petitions against the 26th Amendment.
He added that the high court’s powers under the Article 199 of the Constitution had been curtailed, and judges today had refused to hear petitions under this article. He emphasised that in both Islam and accepted principles of the law, no one was above the law, whether he or she was a head of state or an ordinary citizen.
The Hyderabad District Bar Association also expressed concern over the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, terming it a serious violation of the Constitution of Pakistan. In a joint statement, Hyderabad District Bar Association President Ashar Majeed Khokhar and General Secretary Masood Rasool Babar Memon said the amendment had not only undermined the independence of the Supreme Court but also distorted the principle of separation of powers and the constitutional balance of authority.
They said the passage of the amendment amounted to a direct attack on the fundamental structure of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Constitution. They stated that the bar association wholeheartedly acknowledged the exemplary and principled resignations of Justice Shah and Justice Minallah who relinquished their constitutional privileges and offices solely to uphold the Constitution, honour their oath and protect judicial independence.
According to the bar, these resignations stood as moral and legal testimony that the country’s constitutional framework had been gravely wounded. The bar leaders said that as one of the oldest and most representative bodies of the legal fraternity, the Hyderabad District Bar Association rejected the 27th Constitutional Amendment in its entirety under its constitutional responsibility to safeguard the Articles 175, 175A, 184(3), 199, and the basic structure of the Constitution.
They added that the amendment was in direct conflict with the principle of judicial independence mandated under the Article 175(3), and violated the constitutional autonomy of the Supreme Court.
They stressed that no bar association could remain silent when administrative interference attempted to strike at judicial authority. The bar association expressed complete solidarity with the judges who had resigned, stating that their decision served as a reminder that the legitimacy and dignity of the judiciary stemmed from constitutional integrity not from acquiescence to unconstitutional acts.
Reaffirming its historical role in defending the Constitution, the bar association announced the launch of a movement to protect constitutional supremacy in accordance with the rights guaranteed under Articles 16, 17, and 19.
It asserted that judicial independence was absolute and non-negotiable. The bar association leaders stressed that the Constitution was supreme, and the legal community would not remain silent in the face of any action that weakened public rights or undermined the rule of law.
On Friday, lawyers in Hyderabad boycotted court proceedings in protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment. No judicial work was carried out at the Sindh High Court Hyderabad, the district and sessions courts, and the subordinate courts.
On the call of the high court bar association and the district bar association, lawyers did not appear before the courts. The main gate of the Sindh High Court Hyderabad remained closed. Lawyers also staged a protest and chanted strong slogans against the constitutional amendment.
