MULTAN: The Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) has suspended its earlier decision of suspending the licences of the sitting and four former presidents and as many general secretaries of the Multan District Bar Association (DBA).

The decision to suspend the licences that was given by the council’s disciplinary committee has been withdrawn by its chairman.

On June 18, Rashid Iqbal, through his special attorney Farooq Ahmed Bhatti filed a petition before the PbBC chairman against four former DBA presidents -- Muhammad Nazim Khan, Mehboob Ali Sanhila, Muhammad Yousaf Zubair and Azeemul Haq Pirzada - and as many ex-general secretaries -- Afzal Bashir Ansari, Javed Iqbal, Anees Mehdi and Muhammad Imran Khakwani.

In the plea, Mr Iqbal stated that on May 10, 2016, a lease agreement was signed for installation of four hoardings on the District Courts premises for a period of five years.

He said that two of the hoardings were installed, while it was decided that the remaining would also be installed soon.

He, however, regretted that so far he had not been allowed to install the remaining two hoardings which caused him a loss of Rs200,000 per month without any cogent reason and lawful justification.

He held the eight former bar officials responsible for violating the lease agreement and causing him a huge financial loss.

He demanded that the DBA be directed to immediately hand him over the installed hoardings, as well as extend the contract period for a tenure during which the petitioner was forcibly dispossessed of his hoardings.

He sought that the respondents might also be directed to abide by the aforesaid lease agreement signed between the parties in the supreme interest of justice.

On July 30, PbBC secretary wrote a letter to the district and session judge and DBA Multan president stating that he had been directed by the bar’s disciplinary committee to inform them that through its order issued on July 9 the licences of four former presidents and general secretaries of the district bar had been cancelled and now they were not entitled to appear before any court of law.

The PbBC chairman, on Tuesday, however, suspended the order of the bar’s disciplinary committee on the request of PbBC member Daud Ahmed Wains and directed the accused lawyers to appear before him on Aug 15.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2020