Clash between lawyers group, law minister rambles on

AGP suspends council members resolution against Farogh Naseem’s membership

ISLAMABAD: The tussle between the Independent Lawyers Group (Asma Group) and Law Minister Farogh Naseem has intensified even further over his Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) membership.

The Attorney General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan who is also the PBC Chairman, suspended the June 12 resolution about Naseem’s membership along with issuing him a show cause notice.

Khan passed the order over the law minister’s petition against a resolution by 14 of the council’s members

These members belong to the Asma Group. While PBC Vice-Chairman Amjad Shah, who is a part of the group spoke out in a statement saying that “The AGP by virtue of his office is not appellate authority of council. Hence, he has no authority on the majority members order.”

“This is a glaring example of misuse of authority on the part of AGP as he indulged himself in the affairs of the institutions to which he holds an ex-efficio post,” he added.

Shah said that this also proves how the federal minister tried to play with the law in such an “erroneous manner which is highly condemnable.”

The council’s vice-chairman said the bar council will also consider if Khan’s act falls under the ambit of misconduct.

Earlier, 14 members associated with the Asma Group suspended Naseem’s membership deeming him to have taken the reins of the law ministry, thereby requiring him to suspend his license.

He, however, failed to do so, hence the law minister’s membership of the PBC has also been revoked.

They also resolved that in view of the second provision of Rule 108-O and failure of Naseem to get his licence to practice suspended within one month, he has also committed a professional misconduct.

Therefore, a show cause notice should be issued to him as to why the matter may not be referred to the PBC’s disciplinary committee for appropriate action in accordance with the law.

The PBC with majority members also concluded that “the role played by the law minister in the filing of references against Justice Isa and Justice Agha in the SJC is highly condemnable as he is instrumental in hatching this conspiracy against the independent judiciary”.

However, the Hamid Khan Group members, who are in minority, are supporting the law minister in this matter.

This group’s stance is that Naseem’s suspension is contempt of court.
Recently, the apex court dismissed the Independent Lawyers Group’s petition against the law minister.

Soon after taking oath as law minister, the clash continued between the two lawyers’ groups on his membership