LAHORE, May 29: The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) hinted on Thursday that Punjab Bar Council vice-chairman Arif Chaudhry might lose his bar membership for inviting the provincial chief minister to a dinner on Friday (today) despite the fact that the invitation had met with fierce opposition from the Joint Action Committee.
LHCBA president Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari further claimed at a press conference that the PBC vice-chairman could also lose his JAC membership. “If the LHCBA can cancel the membership of provincial advisor Rana Ejaz Ahmad Khan, then what’s the big deal in treating Mr Chaudhry the same way.”
He disclosed that a no-confidence move against the vice-chairman was also on the cards.
At present, the JAC is maintaining a hardened stance against Mr Arif’s invitation to Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi on grounds that a liaison of its members with government officials at this stage would damage the on-going struggle of the legal fraternity against the LFO.
Mr Arif has refused to call off the ceremony saying that it had nothing to do with the lawyers’ anti-LFO stance.
Former PBC vice-chairman Mohammad Ramzan Chaudhry alleged that his successor had withdrawn Rs70,000 from the bar’s funds without the consent of the general house for holding the Friday’s ceremony at a local hotel. He claimed that as many as 75 of 101 PBC members had assured the JAC that they would not attend the dinner. “Mr Chaudhry has invited officers from the provincial advocate general’s office to the ceremony to salvage some pride,” he claimed.
The former PBC office-bearer requested the chief minister to refuse to accept the invitation since his presence at a ceremony that was being held against the wishes of the legal fraternity would make his image controversial.
Earlier, Mr Chaudhry reiterated his commitment to holding the ceremony on schedule, claiming that a majority of the PBC members would be present on the occasion to thank the chief minister for approving a Rs2 million grant for the bar. “I have no personal interest in inviting the chief minister nor I have links with the establishment,” he clarified, adding that Chaudhry Pervez was expected to announce more funds for PBC’s development projects on Friday.
He termed the opposing stance of the LHCBA and JAC “hypocritical”, claiming that certain bar members were trying to impede the state financing of PBC projects. “Issuing sweeping statements against the PBC is not worthy of their professional status, and they should place interests of the bar ahead of every personal grudge.”
He maintained that the PBC still owned the anti-LFO stance of the JAC and firmly believed that the struggle should continue till LFO’s abrogation.— Reporter