Today, the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers voiced utmost concern over military instructions to judges in Pakistan to take a fresh oath of allegiance to the unconstitutional army led administration.
The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers takes note with gravest concern that Chief Justice Said-uz Zaman Siddiqi and five other Supreme Court Judges have refused to heed the ultimatum issued by the military to swear allegiance to the military junta. The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers has also been informed that 15 other judges nationwide refused to take the oath. The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers condemns the measures that have been taken against these judges whose stance has been that of respect for constitutionalism, the rule of law and the highest ideals of their profession and duty to the nation.
« The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers firmly condemns the cynical manoeuvre by the military junta led by General Musharraf to attempt to gain legitimacy in such an unconstitutional way. We call on the military government to announce a prompt return to constitutional and democratic legitimacy in Pakistan and refrain from grossly interfering in the country’s judicial system », said ICJ Secretary-General Adama Dieng today.