BAHAWALPUR, Oct 9: The general body of the Lahore High Court bar, Bahawalpur bench, on Thursday cancelled the bar membership of the sitting president for extending an invitation to Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar.

Bar president Malik Muhammed Aslam Channar, who was in Islamabad on Thursday, said the decision was illegal.Mrs Kausar Bhatti, who attended the general body meeting, said Mr Channar had been removed for violating his mandate. She said Mr Channar had, on behalf of the high court bar, extended an invitation to Justice Dogar who was not a constitutional CJP. She said the general body meeting was presided over by senior member Mian Amir Ali.

Yahyah Khan, who heads the District Bar Association, Bahawalpur, told Dawn that the LHCBA general body had also withdrawn the invitation extended to Mr Dogar.

Terming the general body move illegal and unconstitutional, Mr Channar told Dawn that he would return on Friday (today) and would hold a `legal and constitutional’ emergency general body meeting to review the whole situation.

Local lawyers meanwhile boycotted courts in connection with their weekly protest campaign to demand the reinstatement of deposed CJP Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhury and remaining judges.