LAHORE: Vice Chairman Punjab Bar Council has cancelled the practice license of eight lawyers including outgoing chairman executive committee Jamil Asghar Bhatti after 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 Ashgar Bhatti , Mian Hafeez and Javed Bashir from Lahore, Safdar Saleem from Jhang, Syed Tayyab Hussain Shah from Sargodha, Syed Muhammad Imran from Narowal, Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal, from Faisalabad and Syed Tahir Hussain Bokhari from Attock obtained practice license as an advocate on the basis of fake law degrees, said an order issued by vice chairman Ch. Muhammad Akram Khaksar.
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 licenses on the the but also contested the bar council elections. It is a matter of great concern that they not only committed forgery but also brought bad name to the legal fraternity, the order said.
The issue of fake degrees came to limelight after a senior bar member Gulzar Butt withdrew her nomination from Punjab Bar Council's election and took the matter to Lahore High Court. She was of the view that credentials of lawyers' representatives should be beyond all doubts.
However, the election of Punjab Bar was held on November 28 but the official result would be announced on December 08.
The deputy controller of the PU had informed the LHC 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 with name of one Javed Iqbal and his name had also been registered in the roll number of Jameel Asghar Bhatti. Similarly, in the second part of LLB, the admission form was issued with the name of Rai Khalid Bashir Khan but the result issued with the name of Jameel Asghar Bhatti.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020