PESHAWAR: A bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed has disposed of petitions challenging the disqualification of lawyers from voting for failing to clear their dues to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council.
The court referred the matter to the Pakistan Bar Council, directing it to decide the issue within 15 days. In its ruling, the bench observed that the petitioners had already approached the Pakistan Bar Council, making it the appropriate forum to adjudicate the matter.
The court further stated that if the issue is not decided within the stipulated period, the petitioners would be at liberty to approach the relevant forum again. It also clarified that elections of bar associations for the year 2025–26 will remain suspended until the grievances are addressed.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners, including Shumail Ahmad Butt, Yasir Khattak, and Lajbar Khan, argued that the right to vote is a fundamental constitutional right and cannot be taken away through unlawful amendments to rules. They requested the court to strike down the amendments and the notification issued by the KP Bar Council regarding outstanding dues, claiming that thousands of lawyers had been deprived of their right to vote through the impugned changes.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court had reserved its verdict, which was announced a day earlier. The bench, while disposing of the petitions, refrained from deciding the case on merits and emphasized that the legal community should resolve its issues through its elected representatives.
