PBC, SCBA poles apart at boycott courts
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) rejected the suggestion of the Supreme Court Bar Association for complete boycott of the proceedings of the superior courts from February 4, by endorsing its earlier decision that lawyers would attend courts five days in a week in view of problems being faced by litigants.
According to a member of the Pakistan Bar Council, Sardar Muhammad Latif Khosa, the decision to attend courts’ proceedings by rejecting the proposal of the SCBA for complete boycott was taken in a meeting held here on Saturday in the larger interest of the litigant public.
According to the decision, lawyers would observe boycott of the superior courts only for a day each Thursday in a week, he said. The top body of the lawyer community also decided that lawyers would observe token boycott only for one hour from 10.30 to 11.30 a.m every day of the week.
This decision was taken in a the 170th meeting of the Pakistan Bar Council held here and presided over by Vice Chairman of the Council, Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig. The meeting was attended by more than 15 members of the PBC. Members who attended the meeting were Qazi Muhammad Anwar, Safir Ullah Khan from Peshawar, Fazal-e-Haq Abbasi, Ch.Muhammad Ashraf Wahlah, Dr.A.Khalid Ranjha, Sardar Muhammad Latif Khosa, Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Hamid Khan, Rasheed A.Rizvi, Muhammad Yasin Azad and Farooq H.Naek.
It is pertinent to mention here that hundreds of lawyers of the Supreme Court and the High Courts besides lower courts are already appearing before the courts honouring the decision of the PBC taken on January 13, at Peshawar. It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court Bar Association which met on Friday under the chairmanship of Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the SCBA decided to start complete boycott of the superior courts from February 04 (Monday).
The same proposal was also submitted by the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan in the meeting of the Pakistan National Lawyers Action Committee which also met here on Saturday and presided over by vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig.
More than thirty representatives of the lawyers associations from all over the country attended the meeting of the Pakistan National Lawyers Action Committee.However, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and members of the National Lawyers Action Committee made it clearduring the meeting that the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council would be final and honoured.
Some of the leading lawyers of Supreme Court of Pakistanincluding Farooq H.Naik, Waseem Sajjad, Dr.Khalid Ranjha, Sardar Muhammad Khan, Abdullah Khan Dogar, Gull Zarin Kiani, Dr. Babar Awan and Anwar Mansoor Khan besides others said that the PBC was supreme body of the lawyer community and all its decisions would be honoured.
Caretaker Minister for Law and Justice Syed Afzal Haider has lauded the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council to observe one-day boycott of proceedings of courts. In an interview with Radio Pakistan, the minister said the decision would greatly help the litigants whose cases have been pending in the courts for the last many months.
“Both the lawyers and the litigants were greatly disturbed at the complete boycott of the courts. The decision by the PBC would provide great relief to both of them,” he said. Afzal Haider said miscreants might take advantage of holding rallies and strikes and disturb the election process in which all the major political parties are participating. “All major political parties need peaceful environment to continue their election campaign,” he added.
He said civil judges and session judges are assisting in the entire electoral process to facilitate Election Commission. Parliament, he said, is the real custodian of the rights of the people which should be given a chance to function.
Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum welcomed the decision of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) to appear before the courts five days a week and hoped that the PBC would also end the boycott on Thursday every week in the interest of litigant public.