IHC Bar president tells Insaf lawyers: Lawyers must not protest against legislation

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court Bar Association President Syed Wajid Ali Shah Gilani said Friday 26th Amendment was passed by the Parliament.

In a three-page response to the letter of Ali Bukhari, President of Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF) Islamabad, Wajid Ali wrote lawyers were not legislators.

“Our mandate is to defend the constitutional structure, not to protest against legislation”, he explained.

He said main role of lawyers was to uphold Constitution in which the amendment had been approved by the legislators through voting.

He reminded Bukhari he had voted for him when he was a candidate for National Assembly in last general elections. “I must express my serious reservations about your letter”, he said.

Islamabad High Court Bar President said Insaf Lawyers Forum was not a registered body, nor a recognised organisation under Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973.

The rules and regulations of Islamabad Bar Council strictly prohibit any such group from influencing the Bar Association elections, he added.

“The basis of your letter and its claim to represent the ‘consciousness of the legal community’ is questionable”, Wajid Ali told Bukhari.