The Senate on Thursday passed The Legal Practitioners and Bar Council (Amendment) Bill 2011 aimed at providing financial grants to bar councils and bar associations on regular basis.
Reported by Standing Committee on Law and Justice to the House, the Bill was moved by Law Minister Moula Baksh Chandio to further amend Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Act 1973 and The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill 2011, and was subsequently passed after clause by clause reading.
Earlier, Professor Khurshid, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and S M Zafar opposed the bill, as according to them, the law would promote nepotism and corruption at the bar level while citing the financial assistance provided by the then Law Minister Babar Awan to some bar councils and associations.
However, the Law Minister, while speaking, rejected such impression saying that the legislation was aimed at strengthening small bar associations and bar councils in remote areas of the country. Leader of the House, Syed Nayar Hussain Bokhari also rejected the impression saying that the objective behind the Bill was to support the lawyers' community and not individuals at smaller district and tehsil level. In its statement of objects and reasons, the bill stated that "for the betterment of the lawyer's community the grants to bar councils and bar associations are being made mandatory. The grants shall be made keeping in view the requirements of the particular provincial bar council and bar association.