Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leading member and former Supreme Court Bar Association president Hamid Khan has announced launch of a lawyers’ movement against the proposed constitutional amendments.

The march will begin on Sept 19. Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Hamid Khan criticised efforts to have constitutional amendments. He described the proposed amendments as a mockery of the constitution and condemned the potential creation of a federal constitutional court.

Khan declared that lawyers would reject the amendment bill before it was formally presented and pledged to conduct a movement similar to the one against Gen Pervez Musharraf. He emphasised that no other constitutional court could be established while the Supreme Court existed. He also asserted that if a constitutional court was to be created, it would have to be over the “dead bodies” of lawyers. The movement would begin at the Lahore High Court on Sept 19, he added.

Khan firmly stated that the Supreme Court was the only constitutional court and that parallel courts would not be tolerated. Furthermore, Khan opposed any changes to the procedure for appointing the chief justice, demanding the immediate notification of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as chief justice.

He warned that on Oct 26, they would only recognise Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as chief justice and no one else. Khan called on lawyers nationwide to join the movement, urging them to reject the proposed constitutional package and discard it into the “dustbin.”