ISLAMABAD — On Saturday, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) issued a statement condemning “unwarranted” police raids on the homes and offices of attorneys across the nation and the filing of FIRs against them for carrying out their legal responsibilities.
PBC Vice-Chairman Haroon-ur-Rashid and Executive Committee Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha issued a statement reading, “[these actions are] unacceptable, unjustified, unethical, and against the law and Constitution.”
In a recent raid, authorities in Lahore rummaged through the home of Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad Kisana, chief of the PTI’s legal wing Punjab Insaf Lawyers Forum.
According to Kisana’s relatives, about 45 police officers, both uniformed and unmasked, drove up in five vehicles and broke down the front door.
The Cyber Crime Cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Islamabad questioned PTI chairman Imran Khan’s counsel, Naeem Haider Panjutha, for eight hours a week prior in relation to Judge Humayun Dilawar’s inflammatory Facebook remark.
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The PTI chief’s lead attorney, Khawaja Haris, was questioned by the FIA the next day following the Facebook post.
The PBC officers stated that the leading attorneys’ organization could not ignore the “illegal” actions taken by law enforcement against the relatives of lawyers.
They voiced serious worry over the home-invasion operations and subsequent detention of lawyers.
They went on to say that lawyers should not be members of any political party because their sole responsibility is to uphold their clients’ legal rights and interests.
The PBC officials requested that the government immediately cease their raids and withdraw the FIRs filed against the attorneys.
The authorities, they said further, shouldn’t frighten the lawyers by saying they’d bother their families.
The PBC issued a warning, stating that the council would plot its next move if the current trend of behavior persisted.
Separately, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) criticized a complaint filed against senior judge Justice Sardar Tariq Masood of the Supreme Court by an organization called the Civil Society of Pakistan before the Supreme Judicial Council, alleging financial misconduct on his part.
The group of lawyers issued a statement praising Justice Masood for his integrity and the fact that he was carrying out his judicial duties in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
The IHCBA said that the complaint was an unconstitutional effort to stifle free thought in light of the country’s current predicament.
The bar organization has stated that it supports a robust and constitutionally independent judiciary.
“Unfortunately, since the creation of Pakistan, there has been a conspiracy to weaken the judicial system in the country,” it continued.
The IHCBA went on to say that judges were constantly being blackmailed into making judgements against their will.
According to the rest of the statement, it has become common practice for institutions to file fraudulent and falsified complaints against judges who refuse to meet the “unconstitutional demands” of those in power.
“This kind of propaganda against judges cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” the group added.
The IHCBA said that Justice Qazi Faez Isa, another senior judge on the SC, was referred for rendering a decision in the Faizabad sit-in case in accordance with the Constitution.
The IHCBA has stated that it will always support the judicial branch and will do everything it takes to protect the rule of law in India.
The PBC has just spoken out against the complaint filed against Justice Masood.
