LAHORE, May 23: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) has objected to the Punjab Bar Council vice-chairman’s plan to host a dinner in honour of the Punjab chief minister on May 30, saying that it would damage the anti-LFO stance of the legal fraternity.

Dawn learnt on Friday that following the JAC’s sharp reaction to his intention of hosting dinner in honour of the chief minister, the vice-chairman, Mohammad Arif Chaudhry, had sought time till May 26 for coming up with a reply to it. The objection was raised on grounds that no such decision could be made without the approval of the general house meeting.

A senior member of the JAC on condition of anonymity told Dawn that the objection was raised at an informal meeting where the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) — currently running the anti-LFO campaign — expressed a unanimous view that none of their members should attend or host any ceremony in honour of a government official especially the governors and chief ministers.

“The decision of a JAC member to host dinner in honour of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi at this crucial period of time when the lawyers are heading for direct action against the superior courts judges availing the extension of their services under the LFO, can prove devastating and might affect the impact of the whole struggle,” he maintained.

PBC executive committee president Kazim Khan said the JAC had called Arif Chaudhry in person and conveyed its reservations to him. “It would have been better if he had obtained the approval of the Punjab Bar Council’s general house for inviting the chief minister to the dinner,” he said, expressing hope that the matter would get resolved without any bitter incident. Mr Khan added that the vice-chairman had assured the committee members that he would not make any decision contrary to the stance of bar councils and associations.

Mr Arif disclosed that he was holding talks with his colleagues on this issue and would like to convey the factual position to the JAC by Monday. “I think they have misunderstood the notion, since inviting the chief minister has nothing to do with the anti-LFO stance,” he claimed.

He maintained that he opposed the LFO and could never think of acting against the collective thinking of the legal fraternity on any issue. When asked if he would revise the decision to host the dinner, he said: “Nothing can be said at this preliminary stage since my view is yet to be heard by the JAC.”