PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council’s chairman and vice-chairman to respond to two petitions seeking its orders for the provision of representation and voting rights to the lawyers of the merged tribal districts in the forthcoming elections for the council.

A bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Syed Arshad Ali fixed Nov 11 for the next hearing into the petitions filed by Mohmand District Bar Association president Gul Rahman Mohmand.

It asked the bar council’s chairman and vice-chairman to file comments on the petitions.

In one petition, Mr Mohmand requested the high court to direct the respondents, including the provincial government and KPBC chairman and vice-chairman, to list him and other members of the merged district bar associations in voter list for the 2020-25 council elections and allow them to cast their votes.

High court asks KPBC chairman, deputy to file response

He also requested the court to direct the respondents to allocate members for the merged districts bar associations as per their strength in the polls.

In the other petition, the bar association’s president challenged the rejection of his nomination papers for the polls by the provincial advocate general, who is also the council chairman and returning officer for the polls.

He prayed the court to direct the respondents to allow him to contest the upcoming council elections from Group I of the districts (Peshawar division).

Polling for the election of 28 bar council members will be held on Nov 28.

The bench after holding preliminary hearing issued notices to the provincial advocate general and KP Bar Council chairman, Shumail Ahmad Butt, and vice-chairman Shahid Raza Malik for response to the petitions.

Both were present in the courtroom and accepted the notice.

The petitioner along with lawyer Habibullah Mohmand appeared before the bench and said through the Constitution (Twenty-Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, the erstwhile Fata had been merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and regular courts had been established there.

The two said the petitioner along with other lawyers from tribal districts, who were earlier members bar associations of settled districts, transferred their membership to native tribal districts.

They said the Mohmand District Bar Association was also established and was registered by the KPBC and the petitioner was twice elected as its president.

The petitioner claimed that since merger of Fata into KP, the bar council didn’t bothered to take any step for the rights of lawyers in merged tribal districts, including their right to vote in the council polls, and even no membership for the bar council had been sanctioned through legislation.

He said neither right to vote had been given to any merged district nor has been included in the groups of district so that any member could be elected from there.

The petitioner said his and members of the legal fraternity in merged tribal districts had been deprived of franchise and they had no choice but to approach the high court for relief.

He said he and bar associations from tribal districts had not been treated equally before the law and their vested rights had been taken, which was discriminatory in all respect.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2020