District bar seeks bailout package for lawyers

Asks Islamabad Bar Council to release Rs0.1m to each registered practitioner from the benevolent fund

ISLAMABAD: With a lockdown imposed in the federal capital, in wake of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, stretches deep into its third consecutive week, its repercussions on multiple services have started to manifest.

Amongst other service providers, lawyers who work at the lower courts have been impacted as well.

The lockdown in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has resulted in limited functionality of the lower courts and the lawyer community of Islamabad has been pushed deep into financial trouble.

The Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) has demanded that the government provide a special relief package for its members, particularly those who have not been paid by their clients.

The hearing of regular cases in the lower courts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been on pause amid the outbreak. Only cases which have been deemed as urgent or having an emergency nature were being heard.

Moreover, due to the lockdown and restrictions on the public not to venture outside their homes unless it is to procure food or medical attention, has meant that almost no one was visiting the district kutchery for resolution of problems.

Such a sharp decline in the number of litigants seeking settlement of domestic and other disputes through adjudication has misbalanced financial position of legal aid providers.

In neighbouring Rawalpindi, the district court registrar said that they had not received any case for divorce or court marriage over the past fortnight, nor had anyone sought refuge at the shelter home through the courts.

To pull them out of such condition, Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) has demanded issuing at least Rs100,000 to each registered lawyer from the bar’s benevolent fund.

IDBA President Zafar Khokar and Secretary Nabeel Tahir Mirza have written to the Islamabad Bar Council (IBA) on Thursday. The letter shed light on the decisions taken by the IDBA cabinet in its meeting in which the association had called for issuing funds to each licensed lawyer in Islamabad.

It further contended that thousands of people in the federal capital who have taken up this occupation were facing extreme difficulties due to limited activities in the courts.

“The lawyers depend on their bread and butter by offering their services to the litigants,” the letter stated.

However, amidst the fear emerging from the virus, the courts have either been shut down or operating in an extremely limited capacity, the officials added, explaining that the lawyers have no other source of income, adding that they did not know where to go and what to do in such circumstances.

“All of them (lawyers) are under a severe financial crunch,” it said. Therefore, to alleviate trouble faced by them, the IDBA officials demanded the IBC to issue at least Rs0.1 million to each lawyer from benevolent fund. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2020.