Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The minority group in Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Wednesday challenged orders of the council’s majority group meeting, wherein Kamran Murtaza was appointed as spokesperson of PBC. The minority group comprising 10 members led by Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen moved an application requesting the top court to suspend the decisions made in the last meeting of PBC’s majority group. On November 5, a majority of 13 members, led by Ahsan Bhoon of ‘Asma Jahangir group’ held a requisitioned session to take away the authority of the council’s vice chairman Barrister Farogh Naseem of the ‘Hamid Khan group.’

In the meeting, the majority group appointed Kamran Murtaza as spokesperson and empowered him to present the council’s point of view, especially in the Panama leaks case. It was the same group who, on September 3, had attempted a coup against Farogh Naseem, who was elected as vice chairman in elections held on January 25, 2016. The new majority group had also dissolved all the standing committees of the council.

The coup was challenged before the Islamabad High Court, which annulled the order related to the dissolution of standing committees on Sept 9, asking the PBC to settle the dispute on its own. This decision was challenged before the Supreme Court which will resume its hearing on November 16 over the matter.

Shoaib, in his recent application stated that the top court while hearing the main case on October 25 only allowed the PBC to hold the meetings and do routine work but the 13 members majority group not only violated the court’s order but also contrary to the provisions of Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Act 1973 summoned the meeting and made the above said decisions.

He further stated that in accordance with PBC Appeal Rules 1986, it is made clear that the term of every appellate committee shall be the same as that of the bar council itself, which is five years. He further contended that within the rules, the decisions of Appellate Committee shall be deemed to be the decision of PBC. Thus the PBC cannot alter, review or change the decisions of the Appeal Committee and cannot assume the role of the appellate authority or revisional authority.

He further contended that the meeting already scheduled for October 29 was cancelled by PBC’s chairman with the observation that the propriety demands PBC’s meeting be postponed till the hearing of the case. The mover of the application pleaded before the court to set aside the decisions of majority members’ meeting and suspend Kamran Murtaza from the seat of focal person.