SCBA chief terms FIR of attack on Imran illegal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Wednesday termed illegal the first information report (FIR) registered by the Punjab government on the assassination attempt on former prime minister Imran Khan in Wazirabad on Nov 3, 2022.

In a statement issued here, Abid Shahid Zuberi, the newly-elected president of SCBA, said it was the fundamental right of every citizen to get an FIR registered. “It is the failure of the state not to register an FIR as demanded by the former prime minister, which is illegal, without jurisdiction and is completely in violation of the judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

“The judgments require that an FIR be registered as per the version of the complainant,” Abid Zuberi said. He said the SCBA had already condemned the attack on former PM Imran Khan that took place on Nov 3, 2022. The SCBA president said it was the fundamental right of every citizen to hold peaceful protest, adding that it was a responsibility of the state and duty of law-enforcement agencies to protect life, honour and dignity of every citizen of Pakistan.

“This association demands that the FIR should be registered, forthwith, in accordance with the law,” the statement said. However, later on, at least 10 members of the SCBA distanced themselves from the bar president statement that the FIR was illegal. They said they did not approve of the viewpoint of the SCBA President Abid Zuberi, Geo News reported.

Earlier, on Oct 31, 2022, another disagreement came to the fore when the newly-elected SCBA president announced backing to the PTI long march, but a number of the bar members refused to support him. According to the newly-elected office-bearers, SCBA is an apolitical institution and they had advised Abdi Zuberi against making the association part of a political party.