ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) — the apex body of lawyers — which was rendered non-functional after a coup in September 2016 and the subsequent staying of all its standing committees by the Supreme Court, finally chose its new leader Mohammad Ahsan Bhoon as vice chairman.

Mr Bhoon hails from the ‘Independent’ group, which is popularly known as the ‘Asma Jahangir group’. He is a former Lahore High Court judge who was also elected vice chairman of the Punjab Bar Council and managed to bag the coveted slot by 12 votes from the 23-member council.

His opponent Shoaib Shaheen could only manage 10 votes, while one of the members — Barrister Raheel Kamran Sheikh — abstained from voting, citing personal reasons.

But the new body’s first order of business was to demand the immediate resignation of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Through a resolution, the PBC took issue with the minister’s alleged statement against the Justice Qazi Faez Isa-led inquiry commission on the Quetta Civil Hospital bombing of Aug 8, where at least 74 people, including most of the province’s top lawyers, lost their lives.

Reacting sharply after the release of the commission report on Dec 15, the interior minister held a press conference and dubbed the report “one-sided” and contended that it was released without incorporating his point of view.

New council passes resolution condemning interior minister’s response to Quetta commission report

In its report, the commission had regretted the interior minister’s meeting with Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, the head of three banned organisations (Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Millat-i-Islamia and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat) on Oct 21, 2016.

“The Anti Terrorism Act is equally applicable to public functionaries and they should not be cavorting with proclaimed members of banned organisations,” the commission had regretted.

In its resolution, the PBC maintained that the minister’s press conference was tantamount to interference with working of the apex court and a deliberate attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

“If the minister fails to resign or withdraw his statement, the PBC will launch a campaign against him,” Mr Bhoon warned, talking to Dawn.

“The Quetta suicide attack is a very emotional issue for us, because we lost a good number of fellow colleagues and brothers in this senseless incident,” he regretted.

This unanimous resolve among the PBC’s 23 members, insiders believe, may falter if the stay against the working of the standing committees persists.

The Supreme Court had stayed the PBC from reconstituting the standing committees, which the council had dissolved soon after the Sept 3, 2016 coup by the Bhoon group. However, the court had allowed the council to convene a meeting and settle the dispute.

But no final judgement in this regard has been issued by the Supreme Court as yet, leaving the PBC — the primary regulatory body of the legal fraternity — virtually non-functional, since it could not function without its different standing committees.

The controversy deepened on Nov 5, when the Bhoon group requisitioned session to virtually curtail the authority of then-vice chairman Dr Farogh Naseem — considered a part of the Hamid Khan group — by appointing Kamran Murtaza as the council’s spokesperson.

On Saturday, the new body also adopted another resolution, condemning the unfortunate bomb blast in Parachinar, which resulted in the deaths of over 20 innocent citizens and serious injuries to more than 50 others persons.

On the suggestion of one of its members, Akhtar Hussain, the council also expressed its concern over the alleged involvement of an LHC judge in the Panama Papers and Bahamas leaks and demanded re-commencement of a pending reference under Article 209 of the Constitution before the Supreme Judicial Council, seeking his removal.

The council also congratulated Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on assuming the exalted office and expressed confidence that with able leadership of the chief justice, the apex court will prove to be a vibrant institution to dispense justice in accordance with the aspirations of the people.

This will also strengthen confidence of litigants and general public in the Supreme Court, the resolution said.

Published in Dawn January 22nd, 2017