LAHORE, June 10: The Pakistan Bar Council has served a notice on Supreme Court Bar Association president Malik Mohammad Qayyum for attending a dinner reception hosted by President Pervez Musharraf on May 9 ‘in violation of the PBC instructions against accepting the invitation’.

PBC vice-chairperson Ali Ahmad Kurd told the All-Pakistan Lawyers Convention here on Saturday that the PBC had, in a resolution at Quetta on May 5, directed community members in general and bar office-holders in particular not to attend the dinner reception.

“I respect Malik Qayyum as the SCBA president, yet he has violated the mandate of the apex statutory lawyers body and he (Malik Qayyum) will have to offer his explanation for his defiance”, Mr Kurd said while delivering a presidential address to the convention. The announcement was applauded by participants.

Disciplinary action against the SCBA president, who along with all other office-bearers, did not show up at the convention, was decided at the PBC meeting held here on Friday as this issue was included on the agenda.

Sources said former PBC vice-chairman Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari moved the apex body for the issue to be included on the agenda against Malik Qayyum against whom he had also sent a reference on Dec 29 last year for calling on President Musharraf without a mandate.

The resolution adopted by the convention also reiterated its position saying that no lawyers representative would accept invitation by Gen Musharraf nor would invite him on the bar platform.

Mr Kurd said that no member of Pakistan and provincial bar councils had attended the dinner reception except the SCBA president and some other office bearers who had ‘brought shame for the community’.

Defending his position, Malik Qayyum said that 20 out of 22 SCBA office-bearers had attended the dinner as an opportunity to get lawyers pressing problems resolved and President Musharraf had also made a reciprocal gesture.

He said in a press statement here on Saturday that the show-cause notice served on him was based on mala fide intentions of a few key PBC members who had certain ulterior motive against him.

The PBC, he said, was not competent to issue him the notice and he was planning to file a suit for damages against the move.

The SCBA president said Gen Musharraf was the de facto president but he did not accept him as dejure head of the state.

He said the PBC had singled him out although many other lawyers, including federal minister Wasi Zafar, who were part of the government, were involved in a similar breach of the PBC discipline.