ISLAMABAD: The Pun­jab Bar Council (PbBC) on Sunday “condemned” the Pakistan Bar Council’s call for removal of Law Minister Farogh Naseem from the cabinet and termed the demand illegal and immoral.

In a statement, chairman of the PbBC’s executive committee Jamil Asghar Bhatti said that lawyers of the country stood by Law Minister Farogh Naseem in the wake of the demand by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) for his removal which was based on “mala fide intention”.

Mr Bhatti said that some “elements with vested interests” wanted to “politicise” the presidential reference against Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa “to fulfill their personal agendas”.

In a strongly worded statement on the issue of the surveillance of judges, PBC vice chairman Abid Saqi had on Saturday urged Prime Minister Imran Khan “to immediately expel the law minister from the federal cabinet in the larger national interest and continuity of the democratically elected government, lest it is too late”.

The PBC vice chairman had also demanded a thorough investigation by a judicial commission while alleging that the role, conduct and activities of the law minister were aimed at undermining independence of the judiciary and conti­nuity of democratic process and thus they were against the national interest and earning a bad name for the government.

Law Minister Naseem had in a statement rubbished the demand for his resignation, describing it as non-serious and said that he considered the legal fraternity as his own family.

“There are only a few factions in the bar which are raising such demands only to gain some political mileage,” the minister had stated.

Mr Bhatti in his statement praised the law minister for his “patriotism”, saying that Mr Naseem had always worked for the supremacy of the Consti­tution and law and worked day and night for independence of the judiciary and welfare of the lawyers’ ­community.

He said the federal government had submitted the reference against Justice Faez Isa in accordance with the Constitution. He said the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council on the ­reference would be acceptable to the entire legal ­community.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2020