Government denotifies PCO judges

A notification signed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has removed these judges from service.The government was earlier reported to have suspended perks and facilities to 6 PCO judges in view of their removal from service.The SC had given the deadline till Tuesday to denotify PCO judges. Sources in Law Ministry said all the facilities and benefits given by government to these PCO judges were stopped a couple of days before the notification.Police security was also withdrawn for the PCO judges. Certain PCO judges were seen shifting from their residences in Judges Colony to their private residences.Out of the denotified judges, 4 are from the Lahore High Court while one is from the Sindh High Court. They are Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Hamid Ali Shah, Hasnat Ahmed Khan, Sajjad Hussain Shah and Yasmin Abbasi.The Prime Minister House spokesman said PM Gilani gives great importance to independence of the judiciary. The denotified judges had taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order on November 3, 2007. Apart from these judges, all other PCO-ed judges had tendered unconditional apology to the apex court. The step comes only days after the standoff on the investigation of the NICL scam. The SC had questioned the government over removal of an investigation officer and ordered his posting back to the FIA so that probe could be completed. The PM had made the secretary establishment an OSD after he issued notification for the transfer of the official back to the FIA on SC prodding.