Resignation call quashed: Majority of lawyers stand by PM

Lawyers’ representatives vote against PBC proposal for movement to oust Sharif

ISLAMABAD: A majority of the lawyers’ representatives on Friday opposed a Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) call for the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the wake of the Panamagate case verdict by the Supreme Court.

It came at a conference of the All Pakistan Lawyers Representatives held under the auspices of the PBC here on Friday to ascertain viewpoint of the lawyers’ fraternity on the issue.

The resignation call, from PBC Vice Chairman Ahsen Bhoon, was quashed by a clear margin of 48 to 24.

In the wake of the vote outcome, Bhoon offered his resignation, but the lawyers requested him to continue to serve in the same capacity, and he obliged.

The conference decided that the PBC would constitute a committee to watch the proceedings of the Supreme Court’s three-judge implementation bench, which has constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Sharif family’s London assets in line with the top court’s April 20 verdict.



It is, meanwhile, learnt that 12 lawyers’ representatives, who were in favour of the Bhoon’s proposal, did not attend the conference due to unknown reasons.

Moreover, the lawyers representatives belonging to the Hamid Khan Group did not appear at the conference either. Known for its anti-government stance, the group will hold a lawyers’ representatives convention on May 20.

“The federal government has succeeded in getting support from the lawyers,” a senior representative of the lawyers told The Express Tribune. Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali is said to have played a key role in the context.

Scores of senior government officials were also present during the Friday’s conference.

A PBC resolution adopted during the conference says that the PBC “is seriously concerned over the current situation” in which some bar leaders hinted at launching a ‘lawyers movement’ to oust the PM after the apex court pronounced the Panamagate case judgment.

In order to maintain the unity of the bar and to derive consensus on the issue at hand, All Pakistan Lawyers Representatives Conference had been called, says the resolution, adding that bar leaders from all over Pakistan deliberated upon the issues.

“Firstly, it was decided that the legal fraternity firmly believes in democratic institutions and their continuity as per constitutional scheme. The lawyers have always sacrificed for this noble cause,” says the resolution.

It adds that it is a considered view of the bar that corruption and nepotism are rampant throughout the country. Therefore, the fraternity believes in across-the-board accountability.

The resolution observes that the Panama case judgment, despite criticism and support from different sections, is a step forward for a legal course to eliminate corruption and corrupt practices.



“The fraternity believes that the process of accountability should be across-the-board for all the institutions, including political parties. This also blocks the extra constitutional interferences which it experienced in the past.

“We respect and appreciate the views given by the two judges of the Supreme Court as well as the views of the other three judges of the bench. We demand that the implementation bench should check the credentials of members of the JIT to ensure fair and transparent investigation and collection of evidence.

“After detailed deliberations, a section of participants opined that on the moral side the prime minister should step down to join JIT proceedings. However, majority’s view is that the legal fraternity should vigilantly watch future proceedings and any call for resignation and launch of agitation is pre-mature at this stage as it may harm the democratic system,” says the resolution.