Rawalpindi - Chief Justice of Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Qasim Ali Khan said the bench and the bar are inseparable and their relationship will last forever for delivery of justice to common man.
Addressing the farewell dinner hosted by Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Rawalpindi in his honour, he said the lawyers and the bench played their constructive role in dispensation of justice even during the challenges faced by the judicial system due to Covid-19.
“In this respect, we need the cooperation of the legal fraternity for disposal of pending cases as well as providing speedy justice to the litigants,” he said.
He said he faced immense pressure of cases soon after taking oath as CJ LHC because of the coronavirus outbreak. “The whole world was facing lockdown but we were under pressure to open the courts and to dispense justice,” said the top judge of the provincial judiciary.
On the occasion, Justice Ameer Ali Bhatti, the Chief Justice designate, Senior Judge Justice Shehzad Ahmed Khan, Justice Shujat Ali Khan, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf, Justice Shahid Mehmood Abbasi, Justice Ali Baqir Najfi, Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz, Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan, Justice Sohail Nasir, District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Tariq Javed, other senior and junior judges, LHCBA Rawalpindi President Sardar Abdul Raziq, Secretary Shahid Ali Shezad Bhatti, members of Pakistan Bar Council including Qalab Hassan Shah, Hassan Raza Pasha and many other lawyers were also present.
Chief Justice LHC Justice Qasim Ali Khan said he admitted his slackness in nomination of judges for apex courts from Rawalpindi district. He, however, hoped the upcoming CJ Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti would resolve the issues that he could not during his presence in his office as CJ. 
LHC Chief Justice designate Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, in his address, said that the apex court and its judges are working round the clock even in lockdown to dispense the justice and resolving pending cases. He expressed his displeasure over the elements who bashed the issue of judges’ summer vocations on social media and urged the bars to communicate the real situation with the media. “We the judges don’t take leaves and work round the clock to just provide justice to the public,” he said.
 Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan said he felt immense pleasure that he started his practice as lawyer from Rawalpindi District Bar. He said he was elevated to LHC as judge in 2011 and he imparted his duties with commitment and dedication. He said Chief Justice Qasim Ali Khan had worked really hard and solved thousands of pending cases. LHCBA Rawalpindi Sardar Abdul Raziq and Secretary Shahid Ali Shehzad Bhatti also spoke on the occasion and thanked the judges and the lawyers for attending the farewell dinner hosted in honour of ongoing CJ LHC Justice Qasim Ali Khan.