Minister accused of linking bar grant with resolution on Justice Isa

Published June 27, 2021
The Lahore High Court Bar Association secretary said Law Minister Farogh Naseem "has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently". — Dawn/File
The Lahore High Court Bar Association secretary said Law Minister Farogh Naseem "has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently". — Dawn/File

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) on Saturday accused Federal Law Minister Farogh Nasim of linking its annual grant with a resolution against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who recently survived a reference from the federal government.

“The law minister has been pressurising us to pass a resolution against Justice Isa like some other small bar associations in Punjab have done recently,” LHCBA secretary Khwaja Mohsin Abbas told Dawn.

He belongs to the Independent group, famously known as the late Asma Jahangir group.

He said the federal government had not been releasing the lawful annual grant to the bar and exerting pressure on it through different quarters to fulfil the agenda of incumbent rulers. The law ministry had been at the forefront in the whole episode, he added.

Abbas said the grant was not a charity by the government but a constitutionally protected right of the bars under the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973.

When contacted, LHCBA President Maqsood Buttar, who belongs to the Hamid Khan-led Professional group, said the law ministry had not formally put any demand to pass a resolution about Justice Isa.

However, he maintained that the bar had its firm view that it will always stand by the judiciary against any attack from outside.

Buttar said the bar had requested the government for a grant of Rs100 million but the law ministry asked him to receive a cheque for Rs5m.

“I refused to receive the grant,” he added.

It merits mentioning that [law minister] Naseem is also a member of the professional group and was previously elected to the Pakistan Bar Council being a candidate of the group.

Last month, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) had expressed its intention to become a party in the Justice Isa case to play its role to ensure supremacy of law and the Constitution in the country.

A statement issued by the LBA’s executive committee said the bar could not keep itself aloof from the case of Justice Isa.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...