Karachi
The legal fraternity has warned the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) to take back its “illegal” steps against some lawyers within 72 hours or else lawyers would be forced to shut down all the courts of the province.

This ultimatum came in the wake of the cancellation of the licence of President Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) Latif Afridi. The lawyers staged a sit-in on main M.A. Jinnah Road on Monday.

In this regard, President Karachi Bar Association (KBA) Mehmood-ul-Hasan presented a resolution which was passed unanimously. It said: “PBC members are not being allowed to address KBA, but now onwards if PBC failed to address the issue of lawyers, then the ban on PBC members would be extended by all the bar associations of Sindh, including Sindh High Court Bar.”

The lawyers boycotted court proceedings on Monday against what they termed the “illegal” cancellation of the licence of President PHCBA Latif Afridi. The judges and court staffers were present, however, no case was heard as none of the lawyers appeared in the court.

Under trial prisoners were brought but they had to return without their cases being heard. The lawyers brought out a protest rally from Raja Riaz Shaheed Road and marched towards main M.A. Jinnah Road, blocking vehicular traffic for half an hour. They were shouting slogans against PBC which, they said, was taking unconstitutional measures against the lawyers’ community.
Source: The News
Date:11/18/2008