Members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) have said the question of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s eligibility has been settled once for all after the National Assembly speaker’s ruling in the case.
A PBC delegation, led by Vice Chairman Akhtar Hussain, called on the prime minister on Friday and said those who were crying foul were wasting their time as that attitude was detrimental to the cause of democracy and the constitution of the country.
They said the legal fraternity was of the view that the constitution was abundantly clear on the subject, which inter alia, states that the proceedings of parliament cannot be questioned in any court of law.
They said the speaker, being the custodian of the House, had the constitutional obligation to protect and safeguard the dignity of the House and the members of parliament. They strongly supported the trichotomy of power and underscored the need for functioning of all the constitutional institutions ie the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, within their domains as enshrined in the constitution.
They were of the view that a clash of institutions would render the nascent democratic system vulnerable, for which the people of Pakistan had rendered numerous sacrifices during dictatorship.
The PBC members thanked the prime minister for sending the PPP leaders to represent the party in the conference on Balochistan held under the auspices of the SCBA in Islamabad on May 26.
They spoke highly of Senator Raza Rabbani who delivered a speech and presented pragmatic recommendations for the solution of the problems facing the province.
They called upon the prime minister to give due consideration to the resolution of the SCBA’s conference while addressing the problems of Balochistan.
They lauded prime minister’s sincere efforts backed by the political commitment to address the grievances of Balochistan when he presided over a high-powered meeting on Balochistan.
The delegation expressed concerns over the delay in appointment of a chief election commissioner. They said the office of the CEC was of paramount importance for holding free, fair and impartial elections in the country.
The delegation also discussed with the prime minister the problems facing the legal fraternity. They stressed the need for amendments in the Legal Practitioners Bar Council Act 1973 inter alia for harmonising elections of the bar councils and regular grants-in-aid in the annual budget per Section 57 of the act.
Gilani also directed the authorities concerned to include a grant-in-aid for the Pakistan Bar Council in the federal budget 2012-13 and directed the provincial governments to provide such grants to the provincial bar councils in their respective budgets.
The prime minister announced a grant of Rs 100 million for establishment of a benevolent fund scheme for lawyers.
He also committed Rs 0.5 million each for two ailing lawyers who were suffering from cancer.
The delegation included Ahsan Bhoon, Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Ramzan Chaudhry.
Law Minister Farooq Naik, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Adviser to Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, and Attorney General Irfan Qadir were also present.