Abbottabad lawyer moves court seeking relief package
An Abbottabad lawyer has the moved the Peshawar High Court seeking a relief package for lawyers as the country grapples with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Advocate Shabnam Nawaz filed a writ petition in the Abbottabad bench of the court on Thursday.
The petitioner has asked the court to “direct the authorities to issue a very handsome relief package for lawyers and connected community”.
The court has issued notices to the respondents in the case, including the KP Bar Council, Pakistan Bar Council, law and justice secretary and KP chief secretary, along with provincial and federal finance and interior secretaries. The case will next be heard on April 21.
Advocate Nawaz, in a video message, said that she has filed the petition under Section 62 of the bar council rules. The law allows the setting up of a fund for lawyers. “People should know that whatever we are asking for is our legal right.”
She said that the law states that the fund can be used to provide relief to advocates and their families, giving financial aid to the families of the deceased advocates and making grants to advocates on special occasions.
“This is an extraordinary situation,” she said, referring to the pandemic. “It is a difficult time for all of us,” she added.
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