Minister accused of linking bar grant with resolution on Justice Isa

Published June 27, 2021
The Lahore High Court Bar Association secretary said Law Minister Farogh Naseem "has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently". — Dawn/File
The Lahore High Court Bar Association secretary said Law Minister Farogh Naseem "has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently". — Dawn/File

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) on Saturday accused Federal Law Minister Farogh Nasim of linking its annual grant with a resolution against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who recently survived a reference from the federal government.

“The law minister has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently,” LHCBA secretary Khwaja Mohsin Abbas told Dawn.

He belongs to the Independent group, famously known as the late Asma Jahangir group.

He said the federal government had not been releasing the lawful annual grant to the bar and exerting pressure on it through different quarters to fulfil the agenda of incumbent rulers. The law ministry had been at the forefront in the whole episode, he added.

Abbas said the grant was not a charity by the government but a constitutionally protected right of the bars under the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973.

When contacted, LHCBA President Maqsood Buttar, who belongs to the Hamid Khan-led Professional group, said the law ministry had not formally put any demand to pass a resolution about Justice Isa.

However, he maintained that the bar had its firm view that it will always stand by the judiciary against any attack from outside.

Buttar said the bar had requested the government for a grant of Rs100 million but the law ministry asked him to receive a cheque for Rs5m.

“I refused to receive the grant,” he added.

It merits mentioning that [law minister] Naseem is also a member of the professional group and was previously elected to the Pakistan Bar Council being a candidate of the group.

Last month, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) had expressed its intention to become a party in the Justice Isa case to play its role to ensure supremacy of law and the Constitution in the country.

A statement issued by the LBA’s executive committee said the bar could not keep itself aloof from the case of Justice Isa.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.