The legal fraternity expressed “serious concern” on Monday over the apex court’s role in recent developments urging for the court orders suspending the operation of the proposed Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 to be recalled, aprivate TV channel reported. In a joint statement, representatives of all of the country’s bar councils, including the SC and High Court Bar Associations, have condemned the “role of the SC in the prevailing serious political crises”. “For the last two decades the legal fraternity is continuously demanding for amendment in SC Rules, 1980,” the statement read adding that the legal fraternity had itself appealed “to the parliament to frame the law” in this regard after the SC had failed to do so itself. “This Representative Conference is of the considered view that the proposed SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 is passed by the parliament on the unanimous and consistent demand of the legal fraternity which will serve the interest of the public at large,” it added. Retaliating against the SC decision, the bar associations have said that they “will never accept” such an order. In the same breath, they took “a serious note on the holding of so-called ‘Round able conference’ by some of the politically motivated and disgruntled elements of the bar with political motives”. The lawyers also threw their weight behind the government’s request for the withdrawal of the curative review against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Further, the bar associations have threatened that if the top court fails to pull back the suspension orders, “the duly elected representatives of the bar councils and bar associations will be compelled to call upon the legal fraternity to launch a country-wide movement to protect the democratic and constitutional rights of the people”. In that spirit, lawyers will observe “Black Day” on April 18 to mark their protest.