Lawyers group claims SCBA 'chasing vested interests'

Former president LHCBA says SCBA should resolve issues faced by lawyers

LAHORE:

Members of the Professional Group of Lawyers led by Hamid Khan, on Thursday strongly opposed the role of the present cabinet of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and claimed that the body has vested political interests.

Addressing a press conference at the Lahore High Court (LHC), former representatives of Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), along with Lahore Bar Association (LBA)’s president Rao Sami, spoke against the conduct of the SCBA’s representatives accusing them of “following a specific political party’s agenda rather than rendering its [SCBA] due role”.

Former LHCBA’s president Maqsood Buttar furthered that while the fraternity has been successful in its role of upholding the legal community’s standards and paving good relations between the 'bar and bench', it has been observed that Bar representatives are following a political party’s interests- forgoing the cause and the purpose for which they are elected.

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Former LHCBA’s president Shafqat Chohan highly regretted that the SCBA’s present cabinet is chasing vested interests for the “ease of a political party”. He added, “we had a lot of problems within the bar associations, but I am at a loss to understand why a political party’s agenda is being taken ahead”.

Responding to a query regarding the personal political biases of candidates who are elected to the Bar Association, former president Shafqat Chohan said, “bar representatives should render their roles to resolving issues faced by lawyers and aim to shrink the gap between bar and bench”.