LAHORE: The newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Amanullah Kanrani, has said lawyers will support state institutions provided they continue to work within their constitutional limits.

Speaking at a press conference held in the chamber of senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khan Khosa on Saturday, Mr Kanrani said: “The bar will not become a B-team of the judiciary or the government.”

Mr Kanrani dispelled an impression that there were differences between the bar and the bench. However, he said, message of the bar had not been conveyed to the bench properly in the past due to “personal interests”.

He called for an effective role of bar representatives in the judicial commission on judges’ appointment. He said the opinion of lawyers should be given importance in the process. He said the new cabinet of the bar would not indulge in a blame game but would serve the community without any discrimination.

Commenting on the violent protests in the country following the acquittal of Aasia Bibi, the SCBA president said decisions of courts should be accepted with honour. He said the decisions of courts could only be challenged through legal ways. Mr Kanrani thanked the Peoples Lawyers’ Forum and other groups for supporting him in the election.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2018