PESHAWAR, June 23: Five senior advocates including cabinet members of Peshawar High Court Bar Association submitted their replies to the contempt of court notices issued to them by the high court’s administration.

The lawyers -- PHCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi, vice president Fida Gul, secretary general Essa Khan, former president Syed Attique Shah and Ghulam Nabi -- were earlier issued notices by the additional registrar asking them to explain their position as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them.

The notice states that they had led over 60 lawyers to the courtroom No. 2 on June 9 when a bench was hearing a contempt of court case against a member of NWFP Bar Council, Kifayat Ali Khan. It is alleged that the lawyers tried to obstruct the functioning of the court and to ridicule the judge.

The lawyers filed their replies with the additional registrar. In their replies stated that they had not committed any contempt.

They stated that the Justice Jehanzeb Raheem was in his chamber and the lawyers were silently sitting in the courtroom. They stated that the lawyers had neither raised any slogans nor violated decorum of the court.

It is learnt that the lawyers had consulted some of their senior colleagues while filing the replies as they wanted to resolve the issue amicably.

The NWFP Advocate General Ziaur Rehman also met the senior lawyers and discussed the issue. He stated that he would also hold a meeting with the high court’s Chief Justice Mohammad Raza Khan so as to resolve the issue.

He told journalists that being the advocate general it was his responsibility to bridge the gulf between bar and the bench.