Grant to PBC may hit at lawyers movement

The announcement to award money to a delegation of Pakistan Bar Council during a meeting with the Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naek last week, is being dubbed by a section of lawyers in the city a measure to win favour of the legal fraternity on the Constitutional package for the restoration of the deposed judges and keep the PCO judges in place. While others believe that the grant purely aimed at meeting the urgent needs of the body and its release was well within their due rights hence it has to cause no harm to the movement which they say, would continue till the objective is achieved. However, the fact remains that this hefty grant has broadened cleavage in the ranks of the community after its leadership was looked down upon by the masses for a poorly managed closure of the mega show, long march, in Islamabad on June 14 last when lakhs of people were also in attendance in the name of judges restoration. On the following Thursday, lawyers’ protest rally was also not so convincing while on the next Thursday, lawyers could not strike a consensus on holding the rally when the Punjab Bar Council has unilaterally announced the same. The ‘poorly ended’ long march is being reckoned by a section a success of the government which was pushing the idea of constitutional amendment for judges restoration and the grant to the Bar, another measure to push the community to accept this channel while the movement is in a low profile.