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| October 20, 2005 | Thursday | Ramzan 15, 1426 |
SCBA terms PBC directive arbitrary
ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday took strong exception to what they call “arbitrary” and “dictatorial” directives of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) asking the SCBA to hold its elections within this month. He said the SCBA would stand by its earlier decision of going to polls on November 26.
“We have unanimously decided not to accept arbitrary directives of the PBC and will hold elections of the association according to an agreed date on November 26,” President SCBA Qazi Jameel told Dawn after presiding over the meeting held here at the Supreme Court building.
There is no rules or regulation under which PBC can direct SCBA to hold elections, he explained.
PBC had strongly disapproved of the SCBA’s decision of holding association’s elections on November 26 instead of October 17 and had adopted a resolution directing SCBA either to hold elections on October 29 or hand over entire record to PBC so that it could make arrangements to hold elections.
Earlier, SCBA’s executive committee decided to change the date of the election due to the unprecedented and grave crisis arising out of the October 8 earthquake. Moreover, the Peshawar High Court Bench at Abbottabad and other courts of law are also closed along with other institutions and holding of early elections would disenfranchise lawyers from NWFP.
Qazi Jameel has also resigned in protest from the membership of PBC for alleged altercation with a senior member of the council over delaying elections.
In his letter to the Vice-Chairman, PBC Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari, Qazi Jameel had stated that the chairman, executive committee of the PBC in a telephonic conversation with him had taken very harsh and uncharitable view of SCBA’s executive committee’s decision to extend for a short period, the date of polling of association’s election owing to the NWFP being gripped in the agony of an unprecedented calamity.
PBC, which itself had extended its life without any tangible reasons to January 2006 despite the fact that its tenure has expired on August 31, 2005 is now asking SCBA to hold elections within this month without consulting it, Qazi Jameel deplored.
On the contrary, the SCBA is under enormous pressure from the lawyers of the NWFP who are demanding postponement of the polls because of the earthquake, he said.
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