MULTAN, Oct 6: Attorney-General of Pakistan Sardar Latif Khan Khosa was forced to leave the barroom of the Lahore High Court Multan Bench Bar Association on Monday amid exchange of for and against slogans and the ensuing scuffle among two groups of lawyers.

Khosa’s entry on the premises of the high court building had been banned by the general body of the bar association for his taking a stance which, according to bar, was detrimental to the cause of lawyers’ movement.

When he reached the barroom without any schedule and started meeting with lawyers belonging to the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF), he was interrupted by a group of lawyers led by bar’s general-secretary Rana Naveed Ahmed, who wanted reinstatement of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other judges sacked on Nov 3, 2007. Naveed asked the attorney general to leave the barroom as his entry had been banned. The group of lawyers led by Naveed chanted slogans for the restoration of all deposed judges while PLF lawyers shouted slogans in favour of the PPP government and the attorney general and a clash among both rivals ensued. Khosa, however, left the barroom after around half of an hour.

Later, addressing a press conference, Naveed said the lawyers’ community would not allow any person to enter the barroom whose entry had been banned.He said Khosa was asked to leave the barroom because his entry had been banned and he had not solicited permission to visit the bar.