November 09, 2006	Thursday	Shawwal 16, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday suspended the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and maintained the results of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections as announced by its returning officer.

Malik Mohammad Qayyum, former president of the SCBA, had announced as returning officer that Raja Haq Nawaz had been elected president of the association but the executive committee of the PBC on Monday reversed his decision, declaring Munir A Malik as president-elect of the association. The committee had also issued notices to opponent candidate Raja Haq Nawaz, RO Malik Qayyum and others for further proceedings.

However, on a writ petition filed by Raja Haq Nawaz, Justice Muhammad Akhtar Shabir of the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC, suspended the decision of the PBC and operation of the notices it issued to Raja Haq Nawaz, the returning officer and others.

The judge referred the case to the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court for constitution of a larger bench to hear and decide this matter involving important law point.

In the petition the PBC, the SCBA, secretary-elect Zulfiqar Bukhari, Munir A Malik, Sahibzada Anwar Hameed (unofficially-elected vice president Punjab), Ch Jamil (another presidential candidate) and the RO have been cited as respondents.

Earlier, petitioner’s counsel Hashmat Ali Habib and Chaudhary Afrasiyat pleaded that neither secretary nor president of the SCBA was authorised to declare results of elections on their own and only the RO was legally empowered to announce names of the winners and losers.

The results announced by the secretary SCBA and the orders passed by the executive committee of the SCBA had no legal effect and liable to be declared null and void. So as far the executive committee of PBC, the counsel argued, its members had actively taken part in the election campaign of Munir Malik and, therefore, could not make such a qausi judicial decision.

After hearing preliminary arguments, Justice Muhammad Akhtar Shabir stayed operation of the decision of secretary and president SCBA. The notification issued by respondents and orders passed by them were also suspended. The judge also stayed any proceedings in the matter by the executive committee of the PBC till further orders.

The legal effect of the Wednesday’s decision of the LHC is that following office-bearers stand elected till further orders: president Raja Haq Nawaz, secretary Zulfiqar Bukhari and Nawabzada Saeedudin from the Punjab, Saeed Akhtar from the NWFP, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed from Sindh, and Imranullah from Balochistan.

Meanwhile Raja Haq Nawaz had called a meeting of SCBA executive committee on November 11.