LAHORE, Dec 7: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has decided to be party to the presidential reference filed in the Supreme Court on the issue of appointment of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The decision was taken at a meeting of the bar’s executive committee chaired by its Chairman Burhan Moazzam Malik and attended by Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, Abrar Hassan, Ahsan

Bhoon, Ramzan Chaudhry and S.M. Attique Shah on Friday.

The committee passed a unanimous resolution and resolved to be party to the proceedings on the reference scheduled to be taken up by a five-member bench of the SC on December 10.

The committee observed that the appointment of judges to superior courts as provided by the Constitution had many implications, which required detailed consideration by stakeholders like the judiciary, the bar and the public at large.

It said that decision on the reference filed by the president would have wider implications for the interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution in respect of judicial appointments and particularly for the

parliamentary committee as well as the offices of the prime minister and the president.

The committee said that bar representatives Akhtar Hussain and Burhan Malik would deal with the issue.