Sheikh Rashid to resume legal practice

RAWALPINDI:

Former interior minister and AML chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed is planning to restart legal practice after a gap of 50 years.

Rashid, who was regarded as one of the key allies of former prime minister Imran Khan, applied to the District Bar Association Rawalpindi for the restoration of his law license, seeking reinstatement of his membership and license to practice law.

On Tuesday, DBA President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan and the bar's executive body approved his request, making him a formal member of the bar once again.

Speaking on the occasion, Rashid said he intended to resume legal practice, adding that "the day does not pass" without work. He clarified that he would stay away from bar politics and instead focus primarily on chamber practice.

He said that after restoration of his membership, he would sit in the chamber of his lawyer, Sardar Raziq. Rashid noted that he had left legal practice and bar membership 50 years ago, describing the current moment as a "strange day" in his life as he returns to the profession after half a century.

He expressed gratitude to the bar leadership for granting him life membership and said he was pleased to rejoin his "mother bar" in Rawalpindi. With his membership restored, Rashid is now a practicing lawyer of the Rawalpindi bar and the Rawalpindi bench of the Islamabad High Court.

He stated that he would work for the welfare of the poor, the betterment of the country, and the supremacy of the Constitution, adding that the word "lawyer" would now also be inscribed on his grave.

Separately, the AML chief sought an ATC permission to perform Umrah.

ATC Judge Syed Amjad Ali Shah heard the plea and later reserved his decision which is expected to be unveiled on June 16.