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Pir Muhammad Masood Chishti. Photo: Courtesy — Facebook
ISLAMABAD:
Independent Group candidate Pir Muhammad Masood Chishti has been elected as the new Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) for a one-year term.
Similarly, Munir Ahmed Malik, also associated with the independent group, has been elected as the Chairman of the PBC Executive Committee for the year 2026.
The independent group, known as the Pro-Government Lawyers Section, has been a strong supporter of the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments, which led to the creation of the Federal Constitutional Court.
The group has occupied the top regulatory body for lawyers for nearly 15 years. Ahsan Bhoon currently heads the independent group. Lawyers believe the current government is also in favor of the independent group’s continued dominance of the senior bars. A member of the professional group claimed that “powerful circles” have taken a keen interest in bar politics and have supported the independent group in nearly every bar election over the past few years.
Therefore, efforts were made to secure majority for the independent group in the PBC to ensure continuity in its affairs. The 248th meeting of PBC was held under the chairmanship of AGP Mansoor Awan.
AGP Awan invited proposals for the election of the PBC Vice Chairman.
Farooq Hamid Naek suggested the name Masood Chishti of Lahore, seconded by Syed Qalb-i-Hassan. Maqsood Buttar suggested the name of Qazi Muhammad Arshed of Abbottabad as the second candidate. Both candidates endorsed the motions of their respective nominations.
When the election was contested, it was conducted by secret ballot. After the voting, the ballots were counted and found a total of 23. Chishti secured 15 votes while Arshed secured 8 votes.
Chishti, an associate of former federal minister Babar Awan, had earlier served as law secretary under the PPP government. The Council also elected Munir Ahmad Malik as Chairman of the PBC Executive Committee. Malik is from Karachi.
During the meeting, PBC strongly condemned the campaign of character assassination against judges of Lahore High Court and Islamabad High Court on baseless allegations.
The council stated that such actions undermine the prestige and dignity of the judiciary. It reiterated that the legal fraternity will not allow anyone to succeed in targeting the honorable judges.
The PBC has always supported and fought for the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary as enshrined in the Constitution, an official statement said.
It is learned that during the meeting, members of the professional group called for the name of Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri – an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge removed by the same court – to be included in the statement as he was also facing a malicious campaign. But members of the independent group were not inclined to do so.
