Chief Justice of Pakistan Abdul Hameed Dogar has given his approval for the restoration of 14 sacked judges of the Lahore High Court and Sindh High Court and sent a list of these judges to President Pervez Musharraf for final approval, a private television channel has reported here.
According to Aaj TV, eight of the 14 judges to be restored are from the Sindh High Court while six are from the Lahore High Court.
The channel also disclosed names of the judges who, it said, would be administered fresh oath of office under the constitution by governors of Punjab and Sindh in a day or two. There was no comment from those identified by the channel.
Although it would be a fresh oath, the judges would retain their seniority as it existed on November 2, 2007, before Musharraf imposed emergency and sacked 60 judges after promulgating the provisional constitution order (PCO).
By taking oath afresh, the judges would implicitly acknowledge the validity of Musharraf's act of their dismissal, legal experts said.
The report caused a lot of stir in the country and many fellow judges and leaders of lawyers' movement said it was unbelievable. Some said it would mean stabbing in the back the movement for restoration of deposed judges.
President of Supreme Court Bar Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has, however, acknowledged that Attorney-General Qayyum Malik was spearheading a persistent campaign on behalf of the government to induce the deposed judges. Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said those who fell prey to tempting offers would be regarded as PCO judges who continue to be shunned by lawyers and suffer social boycott.
