Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has denotified some judges of the Lahore and Sindh High Courts following a decision by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the judges of the Lahore High Court, whose denotification was issued, included Justices Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Syed Hamid Ali Shah, Hasnat Ahmad Khan and Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah.
The appointment of Justice Yasmin Abbasey at High Court of Sindh has also been denotified.
"The Prime Minister attaches great importance to the independence of judiciary. The designs of certain elements to pitch the institutions against each other will be foiled," said a statement.
The Supreme Court on May 18 ordered the government to denotify these judges.
The court had ruled that the judges had ceased to hold their offices after the passage of two amendments. It said the PCO (Provisional Constitutional Order) 2007 and the Oath of (Judges) Order 2007 had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court through a July 31, 2009, order.
A Provisional Constitutional Order, or PCO, is an extra-constitutional order that suspends the Constitution. It was issued by General Pervez Musharraf.
IANS
First Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 12:46