June 3, 2025
Staff Report
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Bar Council and senior members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) have rejected a resolution passed by the District Bar Association Manshera, which said it would bars its members from appearing in cases involving individuals accused of blasphemy or desecration of the Holy Quran.
The resolution, that was passed unanimously on Monday, had announced that no member of the District Bar Association would be permitted to advocate for or represent individuals accused of blasphemy, desecration of the Holy Quran, or insulting the Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace Be Upon Him) companions (Sahaba-i-Karam) and family (Ahle Bait).
However, on Tuesday, the KP Bar Council Vice Chairman Ahmed Farooq Khattak said the resolution has no legal standing as it contradicts the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act and the rules made by the KP Bar Council.
“This also goes against the spirit of Article 10-A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial. Having a lawyer of one’s own choice to defend an accused is a cornerstone of a fair trial,” Khattak said.
He added that no one can prevent a lawyer from fulfilling his or her professional duties.
When asked whether the KP Bar Council would take action against the Manshera Bar Association for the resolution, Khattak said, “If any lawyer files a complaint stating that they have been barred from discharging their professional duties, the KP Bar Council will definitely take action against such individuals for misconduct.”
Senior lawyer and Pakistan Bar Council member Amjad Shah also criticized the resolution, calling it contrary to the norms of the legal profession and inconsistent with the law governing legal practice.
He emphasized that the law requires every accused person to be represented by a lawyer. “Without legal representation, a trial cannot proceed—let alone a fair trial, which is a constitutional guarantee,” Shah said. He added that the Pakistan Bar Council could take action only if a lawyer formally approached the council.
Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court and former member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, Akhtar Hussain, called the passage of such a controversial resolution unethical.
“This is against the ethics of the legal profession, and both the Pakistan and KP Bar Councils should take cognizance of the matter,” he said.
Hussain warned that such resolutions were becoming a dangerous trend, where lawyers are discouraged or barred from taking up certain types of cases.
Rights violations
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also strongly opposed the resolution in a statement, saying it violates the fundamental principle of due process, which guarantees every person the right to a fair trial and legal representation, regardless of the charges.
“This would not only undermine the justice system but also encourage mob mentality and extrajudicial actions,” the statement added.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan. The country has witnessed numerous mob lynchings and killings of individuals accused of blasphemy—many of whom were later found to be innocent. Even when the accused are taken into police custody, most are deprived of adequate legal representation, as many lawyers are afraid to take on such cases due to threats and vilification by right-wing religious and political groups.
As of July 2024, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) reported that 767 individuals were incarcerated on blasphemy charges across the country.
In its 2015 report On Trial: The Implementation of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) documented widespread intimidation and harassment of both judges and lawyers involved in such cases.
In May 2014, prominent human rights lawyer and HRCP regional coordinator Rashid Rehman was shot dead in his Multan office after receiving death threats for defending Junaid Hafeez, a university lecturer accused of blasphemy.