The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and other representative bodies of lawyers on Thursday said the elevation of Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi as the Supreme Court judge was legal.
They said Justice Naqvi was the most senior judge and thus rightfully deserved the elevation.
In this connection, PBC Vice-president Abid Saqi said the tradition of appointing judges in the Supreme Court on seniority basis was still intact. Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Seth Waqar wasn’t elevated to the apex court because of being junior, he added.
Earlier, a private TV channel claimed that Justice Waqar had moved the Supreme Judicial Council on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council on Wednesday had announced a three-day strike over the decision to not promote PHC CJ Seth Waqar to the apex court.
Flaying the recent elevation of Justice Naqvi, they claimed that Justice Waqar was among the most senior high court chief justices but the Judicial Commission of Pakistan did not consider his name for the purpose.