PBC cancels licence of its own executive body chairman, seven others

LAHORE: Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Ch Muhammad Akram Khaksar has cancelled the practising licences of eight ‘lawyers’ including outgoing chairman executive committee Jamil Asghar Bhatti after the Punjab University confirmed that their LLB degrees are fake.

“Relying upon the verification report submitted by the Punjab University, it has been established that Jamil Asghar Bhatti (Lahore), Mian Hafeez (Lahore), Javed Bashir (Lahore), Safdar Saleem (Jhang), Syed Tayyab Hussain Shah (Sargodha), Syed Muhammad Imran (Narowal), Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal, (Faisalabad) and Syed Tahir Hussain Bokhari (Attock) obtained licences as advocates on the basis of fake law degrees, said an order issued by PBC vice chairman.

The vice chairman has also referred the matter to the executive committee for initiation of criminal proceedings against the delinquents and directed the office to remove their names from the roll of advocates.

“They not only procured licences on the basis of fake degrees but also contested November 28 election of the council. It is a matter of great concern that they not only committed forgery but also brought bad name to the legal fraternity and they are also a stigma on the face of legal profession, order said.

The issue of fake degrees came to limelight after a senior lawyer Gulzar Butt withdrew her nomination from Punjab Bar Council’s election and took the matter to the Lahore High Court. She was of the view that credentials of lawyers’ representatives should be beyond all doubts.

However, the election of Punjab Bar Council was held on November 28 but the official result would be announced on December 8.

Punjab University’s deputy controller had informed the Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan that after examining the degree of Jameel Asghar Bhatti, who as per the unofficial results is the elected candidate, we found the admission form had been issued in the name of one Javed Iqbal and his name had also been registered in the roll number of Jameel Asghar Bhatti. Similarly, in second part of LLB, the admission form was issued in the name of Rai Khalid Bashir Khan but result issued in the name of Jameel Asghar Bhatti.

She informed the court that when they examined Muhammad Shahid Rana’s degree they found the complete page of gazette had been torn. The deputy controller told the court that VC constituted a committee over minutely probing the verification of degrees.

Khaksar has also appointed Syed Farhad Ali Shah as new chairman of the executive committee after the removal of Jamil Asghar Bhatti.

After assuming the office, Farhad Ali Shah has directed all the district and tehsil bar associations of Punjab to get LLB degrees of all the candidates verified, who were contesting the upcoming elections of district and tehsil bar associations.