ISLAMABAD - In a relevant development in the ongoing tussle between the President and Secretary General of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), the latter has issued a notification to constitute a Committee to probe alleged misconduct and other allegations levelled against the head of the lawyers body.
In this regard, a notification was issued by IHCBA Secretary General Sardar Arbab Alam Abbasi to constitute a special committee led by Abdul Shakoor Paracha Advocate.
The other two members are GM Chaudhry and Ajmal Ghaffar Toor.
The said notification read, “A special committee, hereinafter also referred to a “committee”, is constituted consisting of the following, to inquire into misconduct and other allegations, as contained in the said notification as well as in the minutes of the meeting dated October 20th, 2017, of the Executive Committee of the IHCBA, against Arif Chaudhry, suspended member IHCBA with consequential effect of his suspension as the president of the IHCBA, Islamabad.”
It added, “The committee shall serve a show-cause notice to Arif Chaudhry, suspended member of the IHCBA, Islamabad, within a period of three days giving a period of 15 days for a written reply of the allegations.”
It further said that the Committee might submit its report with specific findings on each and every allegation with its recommendations thereon to avoid such incidents in future in the larger interests of the IHCBA for fair representation without fear and favour as well as to exercise powers in the interests of the members of the IHCBA instead of personal or vested interests so that none should dare to misuse any powers for his vested interests in future.
The IHCBA President Arif Chaudhary, while talking to The Nation on this issue termed the notification “illegal”.
He said that the Executive Committee had no power to suspend the bar membership as per the constitution of the IHCBA.
However, Arif Chaudhry said that he was ready to hold talks with the opponents and urged to join hands in welfare works of the lawyer community.
Earlier, this tussle between the two office-bearers of the bar has led to the suspension of bar membership of IHCBA President Arif Chaudhry Advocate through a resolution of the Executive Committee by one group, and the removal of Secretary General Sardar Arbab Alam Abbasi as signatory of bank accounts of the bar through a resolution passed by general body meeting by the other group.