ISLAMABAD, Dec 29: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has referred to its disciplinary committee a British psychiatrist’s complaint against legal activist Habib Wahabul Khairi for allegedly defrauding him of 2,000 pounds sterling.

The decision to refer the matter to the five-member committee headed by Justice M. Javed Buttar of the Supreme Court was taken at a meeting of council’s executive committee on Monday.

According to sources, the executive committee also issued a show-cause notice to the vice-chairman of the Frontier Bar Council for constituting a committee to enrol new advocates without a Peshawar High Court judge as required by rules and unauthorised use of lawyers’ benevolent fund.

The meeting presided over by Mohammad Yasin Azad discussed a complaint about office-bearers of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association and a request for an audit of the Islamabad Bar Association’s accounts.

The complaint against Mr Khairi was filed by Dr Sammad Hashmi, an employee of Britain’s National Heath Service, accusing him of possible involvement in money laundering and fraud.

A group of Islamabad lawyers who appear to be annoyed with Mr Khairi over an application moved by him before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for initiating a reference against Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and two other judges of the Supreme Court for misconduct has offered legal support to the psychiatrist.

Dr Hashmi alleged that during legal proceedings with his ex-wife, daughter of a retired bureaucrat in Islamabad, he had received from Mr Khairi a bill for 2,000 pounds in January but it had no details of transaction or legal papers regarding the payment.

If the payment had been made in pounds bypassing the legal system then Mr Khairi was liable to be investigated under the money laundering law, he contended.

Mr Khairi has denied receiving the amount from Dr Hashmi for providing legal advice to his ex-wife.

The committee also passed a resolution declaring that the lawyers’ community would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces to defend the country.