October 7, 2025
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
Two senior members of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association have moved the Supreme Court after their parent bar association cancelled their membership and barred them, along with their associates and clerks, from entering the bar premises and courtrooms.
The feud between the two lawyers, Ali Azeem Afridi and Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, and the office bearers of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association began on October 3 when they were allegedly thrashed by a group of lawyers within the premises of the Peshawar High Court. Both had appeared to represent their client, police officer Behramand, who is accused of murdering a young lawyer in August 2025.
The Peshawar High Court Bar Association maintained that no lawyer should represent the accused police officer, given the sensitivity of the case. However, Shabbir Gigyani took up the case and filed a bail application on Behramand’s behalf.
“I am a lawyer who takes all kinds of cases, whether against the government, intelligence agencies, or involving missing persons, because I believe legal representation is everyone’s right and the cornerstone of a fair trial,” he said.
The bar association disagreed with his stance and proceeded to cancel the memberships of Shabbir Gigyani, Ali Afridi, and their associates.
According to a resolution passed by the general body of the association, both Afridi and Gigyani were held responsible for the October 3 brawl and their membership was revoked. The resolution also called for the cancellation of their associates’ and clerks’ memberships, to be restored only if they submitted an affidavit of disassociation from Gigyani and Afridi.
Gigyani termed the decision illegal and against the ethics of the legal profession.
“The bar association cannot tell me which cases I can or cannot take. As a lawyer, it is my duty to represent anyone I deem fit. No one can bar me from entering a courtroom or representing my client; it is my constitutional right,” he added.
He said that he had filed a constitutional petition before the Supreme Court, seeking protection of his rights and permission to continue appearing before any court of law.
“I have hundreds of pending cases, most related to violations of fundamental rights, including missing persons, and many are pro bono. These cases are of utmost importance. If I am stopped from representing my clients, it could adversely affect their cases. That is why I approached the Supreme Court to get my rights restored,” he said.
‘If Gigyani is not arrested, we will resist’
Ameen-ur-Rehman Yousafzai, President of the PHCBA said that no one had been barred from entering the courtrooms. He clarified that only their bar memberships were cancelled, meaning they cannot use the bar room or other facilities managed by the association.
However, he said that Gigyani has been nominated in an FIR, and if the police fail to arrest him, “we will certainly resist.” Yousafzai further said that the Bar Council should suspend his licence for violating the code of conduct.
‘Gigyani should not take the case of police officer’
The KP Bar Council has urged lawyers to maintain unity and peace, noting that such incidents damage public trust.
Ahmed Farooq Khattak, Vice Chairman of the KP Bar Council, said that no lawyer should be barred from entering a courtroom unless the council has suspended their licence.
“If Shabbir Gigyani is forcibly stopped from representing his clients, he can file a misconduct complaint with the Bar Council, which will take appropriate action against those responsible,” he said.
“However, I personally believe that Shabbir Gigyani should not have taken the case of the police officer accused of killing a lawyer, as it hurts the unity of the legal fraternity. If he believed the officer was innocent, he should have engaged a lawyer from Lahore or Islamabad to represent him before the Peshawar High Court,” Khattak added.