Ill-planning and non-serious approach by Hamid Khan group, which had the backing of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), cost them dearly in the 193rd meeting of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday as their number-weak group had to defer a resolution they had moved seeking resignation from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict in contempt of court case.
A source in the PBC confided in Pakistan Today that the absence of three members of the Hamid Khan group from the 22-member PBC had compelled them to withdraw their resolution and despite some secret contacts with the PBC members to win their support in favour of their resolution, Hamid Khan was forced to make a request to the PBC for deferral of the resolution.
“The PBC meeting unanimously decided to defer the resolution as of the ten members of the Hamid Khan group, only six were present while the mover of the resolution, Maqsood Buttar, was present in the meeting,” the source informed. The members supporting the government’s view included Vice Chairman Akhtar Hussain, Burhan Moazzam Malik, Abdul Lateef Afridi, Roohul Amin Chamkani, Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Mohammad Ahsan Bhoon, Muhammad Ramzan Chaudhry, Asrarul Haq Mian, Mian Abbas Ahmad, Salahuddin Panhwar and Muhammad Yaseen Azad.
Members o9f the Hamid Khan group included Kaleem Ahmad Khurshid, Abdul Qaddous Mian, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Hamid Khan, Faisal Kamal Alam, and Saeed Akhtar.
The source said the Yaseen Azad group had played a key role in the defeat of the Hamid Khan group who had been approached by the government functionaries several times and he had even held a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani only a day prior to the PBC meeting.
“However, Muhammad Razman Chaudhry, Qalb-e-Hassan and Azam Nazeer Tarar sided with the vice chairman group forcing Hamid Khan group whose three members were absent from the meeting including Ijaz Zahoor, Rashid A Rizvi and Zia Awan,” said the source. The Hamid Khan group had to face another humiliation in the PBC when a resolution moved by the Yaseen Azad group was passed expressing gratitude to the chief justice for not taking into consideration the appointments of adhoc and acting judges to be elevated to the Supreme Court in view of the sentiments expressed by the lawyers community/joint meeting of representatives of the bar.
The resolution reiterated its commitment to the independence of judiciary and its role to the dispensation of justice on all issues of national importance, specially the integrity and sovereignty of the country and expressed its full support to strengthen the judicial institutions.
The Pakistan Bar Council noted with concern the current situation of the Sindh High Court where currently only 14 judges were working against the sanctioned strength of 40 who had to entertain and adjudicate upon cases of original side also. The prevailing situation is seriously causing frustration not only amongst lawyers but also litigants, the resolution added.
The PBC said amendment in the rules was mandatory to provide any member of the judicial commission could also propose names of suitable persons for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court and/or high courts and copies of minutes of meetings of the judicial commission and its sub-committees might be issued and supplied to its members representing the Bar and the Pakistan Bar Council as well.
