ISLAMABAD: The impasse between two premier lawyer bodies finally ended on a good note and the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the withdrawal of all actions taken by the parties against each other with consent.

Before the court hearing, a meeting between the representatives of the two bodies — the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the regulator of the lawyers’ fraternity, and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the prestigious bar — was also held in which a consensus was reached that both sides would go back from their stated positions.

The Supreme Court bench hearing the case comprised Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Shahid Waheed. It had taken up an SCBA petition challenging the PBC’s decision to issue show-cause notices and de-seat the bar’s secretary Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir and additional secretary Malik Shakeelur Rehman.

At the outset of the hearing, Justice Mazhar inquired from the chairman of PBC’s executive committee, Hassan Raza Pasha, and SCBA President Abid Zuberi and Ahsan Bhoon from Lahore via a video link about any possibility of an amicable solution to resolve the dispute.

Apex court orders withdrawal of cases filed by SCBA, PBC against each other

Mr Pasha and senior PBC member Qalbe Hassan told the court that before coming to the bench, representatives of the two bodies met to reach a settlement.

The order stated that PBC representatives had agreed to withdraw the decision of de-seating the two senior SCBA office-bearers forthwith.

In return, the SCBA president undertook to withdraw within a week three suits the association filed before the Sindh High Court against 10 of its 17-member executive committee. A proper application will be filed before the high court.

Likewise, all the decisions and minutes of SCBA meetings from Feb 24 till date would also be withdrawn, including the one in which it was decided that Ahsan Bhoon and not Mr Zuberi would represent the association before the Supreme Court in the suo motu hearing held on the holding of elections to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Moreover, the minutes adopted in a subsequent meeting overruling the earlier minutes also stand cancelled under orders. Now the SCBA president will convene a fresh meeting in accordance with the rules.

When the court was asked to order that the SCBA meeting should be called by the president, Justice Mazhar regretted that it was a sorry state of affairs if the president did not enjoy his mandate and could not even call the meeting.

During the hearing, the attention of the court was drawn towards certain correspondence of SCBA’s Finance Secretary Hifsa Bukhari — a member of the majority group — to the Habib Bank Ltd regarding the accounts of the association would also be withdrawn by the finance secretary by Wednesday.

A May 4 resolution in which the majority group had suspended seven minority members, including the SCBA president, will also be withdrawn forthwith.

Similarly, notices issued on May 5 to SCBA employees by the majority group to explain non-compliance with the orders issued by them also stand withdrawn.

Mr Pasha assured the court that the PBC would honour whatever commitment had been made before the court.

Justice Malik asked the representatives of the two groups to work for the bigger cause and while pointing towards Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan — who happens to be the ex-officio chairman of the PBC — that he was witness to the compromise and it was his burden that the settlement should be honoured.

Justice Malik also asked the PBC that being a regulator, it should pacify the situation and should treat the SCBA equally to achieve harmony.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2023