LAHORE: A lawyers’ convention on Thursday announced a complete strike today (Friday) against the shifting of civil courts from city to Model Town.

Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, who recently resigned as judge of the Lahore High Court, was warmly welcomed at the heavily participated convention. Lawyers from across the province attended the bar’s power show against Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti.

Speaking on the occasion, the former judge said he had become frustrated with the working environment in the high court. He said the chief justice had abandoned the practice of having consultation with brother judges or holding a full-court on important issues.

He said just as the country was facing an uncertainty, the high court was also facing a similar situation.

“My resignation was a rebellion against the system,” he claimed.

The former judge said he quoted couplets of Allama Iqbal in his resignation to highlight the faults found in the high court.

Senior bar leaders, including former presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association Hamid Khan and Ahsan Bhoon, Lahore High Court Bar Association’s president Ishtiaq A Khan and Lahore Bar Association’s president Muneer Bhatti also attended the moot.

They said the lawyers would not sit at rest unless the chief justice withdraws the unilateral decision of shifting civil courts from Aiwan-i-Adl to Model Town.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2024