ISLAMABAD: The legal fraternity of Pakistan has risen as one against the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with bar associations from Lahore to Karachi announcing a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court and a black day of protest across the province. The Pakistan Bar Council's own members have called the proclamation unlawful, and the message from the bars is unmistakable: the Constitution of Pakistan is not a document to be bent by convenience.
Eight members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) demanded on Monday that the president immediately withdraw what they called the unconstitutional proclamation of emergency and governor's rule, and restore the democratically elected government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Their objection rests on the text of the Constitution itself.
Why lawyers say the emergency violates Articles 232 and 234
The PBC members maintained that the president's invocation of Articles 232 and 234, on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet, was illegal. Under Article 232, a proclamation of emergency on grounds of internal disturbance beyond a provincial government's control requires a resolution of the provincial assembly. No such resolution was passed.
Article 234, they noted, permits governor's rule only when a province's government cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. Yet the provincial government and assembly were both performing their functions within the constitutional framework, the signatories argued.
'An attack on the public mandate'
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) described governor's rule in KP as an attack on the public mandate, democratic values and provincial autonomy. In a statement issued by its secretary, the association vowed to vigorously oppose any attempt to suppress the will of the people through administrative powers, insisting that constitutional supremacy, parliamentary democracy and provincial autonomy remain the foundations of Pakistan's constitutional order.
Supreme Court petition and a black day in KP
The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), meeting in a joint general house, resolved unanimously to file a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court, seeking judicial scrutiny of the proclamation's legality in defence of the rule of law and provincial autonomy.
In Karachi, KBA President Aamir Nawaz Warraich told the general body: If we do not take a stand today, a stage will come when we will be unable to do anything. He warned that the imposition of emergency was the first step towards martial law, and the association demanded the federal government lift the emergency and restore the provincial government.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC) announced a black day on Tuesday and a boycott of court proceedings. The All Pakistan Lawyers Action Committee (APLAC), through its chairman Ali Ahmed Kurd, condemned the arrests of the province's non-functional Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and other members of parliament.
What is at stake for Pakistan
Pakistan has travelled this road before, and the nation remembers what emergency rule costs a people. The lawyers' movement of 2007 was born of the same conviction now voiced in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Islamabad: that no government, however powerful, stands above the Constitution. The federation is strengthened, not weakened, when the rights of a province and the mandate of its voters are honoured. Let the courts now weigh the matter, and let the Constitution prevail.
FAQ
Why have Pakistan's bar associations condemned the KP emergency?
They argue the invocation of Articles 232 and 234 was unconstitutional because no provincial assembly resolution backed the emergency, and the KP government and assembly were functioning normally.
What action are the bar bodies taking?
The LHCBA and LBA will file a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court, the KPBC is observing a black day and boycotting courts, and the KBA has demanded the emergency be lifted.
Who was arrested under the governor's rule imposition?
APLAC condemned the arrests of KP's non-functional Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and other members of parliament.