LAHORE, April 19: The Punjab Bar Council split into two groups on Friday over the issue of establishment of a Lahore High Court bench at Faisalabad.

PBC executive committee chairman Amjad Husain Malik and council members from Toba Tek Singh (Mian Afzal), Jhang (Khalid Pervaiz) and Sialkot (M. Azhar Chaudhry) said there was a PBC resolution on record calling for the setting up of LHC benches not only at Faisalabad but also at Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha.

PBC Vice-Chairman Ramzan Chaudhry and other members, however, said the Bar had always opposed the creation of benches as an attempt to divide the legal profession. They pointed out that a writ petition against the Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur benches was pending in the Lahore High Court. They called for an early hearing of the petition.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar Association adjourned its general body meeting over the issue on Friday till a clear-cut announcement by the government. Several LHCBA members called for ‘direct action’ against the move while its president, Chaudhry Muzammil Khan, urged restraint. He said lawyers should wait for a firm decision before starting a campaign.

CLARIFICATION SOUGHT: The Lahore High Court asked the home department on Friday to clarify the government policy vis-a-vis the determination of age of criminals on April 22.

The order was passed by Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry on a petition filed by Zakaullah, the brother of murder victim Fida Muhammad. He said convict Najeebullah pleaded minority after the legal proceedings had terminated in favour of the prosecution and a death warrant had been issued. The home department set up a four-member committee to consider his plea.

The judge observed that a judicial decision could not be overturned by an administrative fiat and summoned the department to clarify the position.