Lawyers support registrar for handcuffing hotel manager

Say he did not do anything illegal; would show solidarity with him

GILGIT: The lawyer bodies threw their weight behind the registrar who was summoned by the G-B apex court for allegedly handcuffing a general manager who failed to reserve rooms in a hotel.

“We are with the registrar and believe he didn’t do anything illegal,” said Supreme Appellate Court Bar President Muhammad Iqbal while addressing a news conference on Sunday at Gilgit Press Club.

Besides Iqbal, office-bearers of other lawyer bodies were also in attendance at the news conference.

The lawyers said they were contemplating over passing a reference against the chief judge, Justice Dr Rana Shamim, for overstepping his powers in this case. Qayyum had taken the case to Shamim who turned the application into a suo motu notice.

They accused Serena Hotel Gilgit General Manager Faisal Qayyum of cooking up a false case against G-B Chief Court Registrar Mumtaz Ahmed. After the complaint was taken forward, the apex court had hinted at withdrawing judicial powers from Ahmed and initiating legal action “for illegal and improper exercise of authority”.

Iqbal said the chief court had got two rooms reserved on July 1 for Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan of Peshawar High Court who was on a visit to G-B with his family. “But on his arrival at Serena Hotel on July 15, the hotel management failed to provide the rooms, making the judge and his family wait for hours in the lobby,” Iqbal added.

He maintained when Qayyum was summoned by the registrar to know the reason for this mess up, the general manager refused to show up.

The lawyers said they would be present in the court room on Monday (today) to show solidarity with the registrar.

“Serena’s general manager should be immediately sacked and be tried for misleading the apex court,” said another lawyer, Malik Kifayat.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2016.