ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought a reply from the incumbent president of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Raja Zahid Mehmood as well as 20 other lawyers in connection with storming the Chief Justice Block.

A three-member IHC bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed the lawyers to submit their respective replies by March 29.

Raja Shafqat Abbasi contended before the court that this matter should have been dealt at the Bar Council level on the very first day, but the delay made this issue more complicated.

Justice Minallah remarked that he wanted lawyers to bring the truth on the surface by themselves.

On Wednesday, IHC initiated disciplinary proceeding against incumbent secretary Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) Hafiz Liaqat Kamboh and IBA ex-president Zafar Khokhar for hurling threats to the station house officer (SHO) Police Station Margalla and instigating lawyers to attack the Chief Justice Block.

The court has already suspended licences of 21 lawyers in connection with the attack.

Justice Minallah on Feb 11 wrote a letter to vice chairmen Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) reminding them of their statutory obligation of acting against delinquent lawyers.

Meanwhile, IHC Justice Aamer Farooq resumed hearing against 25 lawyers in contempt of court case for attacking the Chief Justice Block on Feb 8.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2021