MIRPURKHAS, Dec 20 Salahuddin Panhwar who is contesting for the office of president of the Mirpurkhas District Bar Association (DBA) as a candidate of Friends Panel has accused Sindh Bar Council of interfering in the election of the district bar.

Mr Panhwar said on Sunday that the SBC had sent a letter to the district bar directing it to hold annual elections under its list of lawyers but, he said, the DBA had given a list of 489 members to the election commissioner. This list was valid and the SBC's directives were against rules, he added.

Mr Panhwar said that 28 lawyers of the rival panel had not applied for DBA for membership and, therefore, they were not its members and not eligible to cast vote.

The elections are scheduled for Dec 24 under the supervision of Advocate Sultan Ahmed Khan, the association's election commissioner.

Muzaffar Ali Leghari of the United Panel had earlier accused the association of deliberately delaying the handing over of the list to the election commissioner so that they did not get time to file objections.

He said that SBC had issued directives to all bar associations saying only those lawyers who were registered with the council were eligible to cast vote.

He alleged that 58 members of the bar were not registered with the council while 28 lawyers of his panel who were registered were not being allowed to become member of the district bar.

PARAMEDICS The Sindh Paramedical Staff Welfare Association has urged the government to provide jobs to sons of paramedics who died during service.

The demand was raised at a meeting of the association held here on Sunday.