The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has constituted a joint action committee of lawyers’ representatives to decide future course of action with regard to the presidential reference against the Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa and the Sindh High Court’s Justice KK Agha. The committee consists of chairman and vice chairman of the PBC executive committee, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president and secretary, vice chairmen of all provincial as well as Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), presidents of all the high court bar associations at principal seats as well as the Islamabad High Court Bar Association. A meeting of the PBC’s General House was held on Wednesday where 22 members belonging to both the Professional Lawyers Group and the Independent Lawyers Group passed a unanimous resolution. The resolution said the PBC expresses its serious concerns about the references filed by the government against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and the SHC judge KK Agha, “who are widely recognised and acknowledged as independent upright and competent judges”. “The move of filing the references by the government against both these judges smacks [of] mala fide of the government. The manner and haste shown in filing the references and their timing also raise eyebrows in the legal fraternity. Therefore, we disapprove this move,” it said. The apex body of lawyers said it expected that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) would not become a party to such designs of the government and would proceed with the matter purely in accordance with law and as per the constitution. The PBC also approved the decision made by a joint meeting of bar representatives on June 8 and 9 in respect of observing protest day on June 14 across the country. On that day, lawyers will wear black armbands and stay away from courts. They will, however, remain peaceful and not resort to any violence, as the “lawyers firmly believe in the rule of law”, it added. It said the PBC took serious notice of some unsuccessful attempts by the incumbent government to divide the legal fraternity and expressed its resolve that the legal fraternity would stand united on this issue. The council also took serious note of a statement issued by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry “who himself has lost the credibility” that he would lead the movement against filing of references.