Right side of the law: K-P Bar Council to verify lawyers’ degrees

Those with fake credentials will be implicated under criminal law.

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has decided to verify the law degrees of all registered legal practitioners across the province.

A special cell will be established, which will approach universities within the country and abroad to verify law degrees held by members of the bar. At least Rs10 million has been released for this purpose.

This was decided during a meeting of council office bearers chaired by Advocate Hashmat Nawaz on Tuesday. Some council members, including Muhammad Ijaz Sabi, Hazrat Rehman and Said Jamal Badshah, were also in attendance. During the meeting, it was decided that those lawyers with fake credentials will be implicated under criminal law and their licences will be cancelled.



“The decision was taken after two barristers submitted licence applications to practice law in K-P,” Sabi told journalists after the meeting. “Council officials doubted their credentials. As a result, we decided to verify the degrees of all registered lawyers to ensure no one obtains a licence through fake credentials.”

Flood relief

The council also urged the government to step up its relief efforts in flood-affected Chitral and take steps to prevent destruction in the future. The attendees decided to send a team of lawyers to Chitral to evaluate the situation and help the affected legal practitioners of the district.

The K-P Bar Council came into being after the promulgation of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973. It began functioning from January 1, 1974.

Physical custody

In a separate case, the K-P Ehtesab Commission obtained eight-day physical custody of three social
welfare department officials and a contractor in a corruption case.

Prosecutor Lajbar Khan produced department budget and accounts director Afsar Khan, social welfare officer Insafur Rehman, administration assistant director Nisar Muhammad and contractor Muhammad Wali before the court of judge Hayat Ali Shah on Tuesday.

Lajbar said the accused purchased tricycles and sewing machines by granting contracts to ghost firms, causing losses worth Rs20 million to the government exchequer.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2015.