ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid on Wednesday expressed deep concern over Tuesday’s press statement issued by seven members of the council and termed the same as an “individualistic and minority view”.

On Tuesday, a splinter group of PBC labelled Monday’s declaration of the bar council as something that “smacks mala fide”.

The vice chairman regretted that the stance adopted by the minority group did not represent that of the PBC and reiterated the principled stance taken in Monday’s resolution, which was passed during the meeting of the Pakistan, provincial and Islamabad bar councils, high court bars and Supreme Court Bar Association.

The press release issued by PBC’s minority members prima facie seemed to have been issued in haste as it mentioned that there were 156 bar councils instead of the total six including four provincial, ICT and the Pakistan Bar Council.

It was further highlighted that the majority cabinet members of the Supreme Court Bar Association, 10 out of 17, supported the stance taken at the Lawyers Representative Conference.

The entire legal fraternity stands firmly with the rule of law and upholding the constitution, the vice chairman said, adding that the press release by seven members amounts to a minority dictating the majority.

The vice chairman also highlighted that Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry, one of the members of the minority group, already disassociated himself from the press release and had disowned the same while declaring that he was a part and parcel of an independent group of lawyers and will remain in this group in the future too.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2023