MULTAN, July 18: The Lahore High Court Bar Association, Multan bench, has issued a legal notice to a local Urdu daily for publishing a 'libelous' report against its president.

The notice is issued in the light of resolutions passed by the executive committees of the HCBA and the Multan District Bar Association. The notice carries signatures of HCBA president Maulvi Sultan Alam Ansari, general secretary Balakh Sher Khosa, DBA president Wasim Mumtaz, and renowned lawyers Pervez Aftab and Ziauddin Ahmed Qamar.

The daily had reportedly quoted a lawyer, Mr Kunwar Intizar, as saying that the HCBA president had a plan to convert the high court canteen into a barbecue restaurant and that he (Kunwar Intizar) was witness to immoral activities in the chamber of the bar chief.

At this, the HCBA and the DBA held a joint meeting on July 2 last to discuss the news item and later terminated membership of Kunwar Intizar besides referring the matter to Punjab Bar Council.

The PBC also suspended his licence to practice law and issued a show cause notice against his alleged misconduct. Kunwar Intizar however denied in his notice (about suspension of his membership) to the HCBA president that he provided the material for the controversial story. The HCBA has also asked the daily to pay Rs20m as damages to the legal profession and status of the bar association.