Panel set up to probe bar-administration clash

The Hazara Division Commissioner has constituted a three-member fact-finding committee to determine the circumstances surrounding the September 1 confrontation between the District Bar Association (DBA), Abbottabad, and the district administration over the installation and subsequent dismantling of a water filtration plant at the Kutchery premises. According to a notification, the committee has been directed to submit its findings within 15 days of its first meeting. Dr Shabbir Ahmed, Secretary to the Hazara Commissioner, will head the panel, while Abbottabad Investigation SP Ayaz Mehmood has been nominated as a member. The third member will be co-opted from the High Court or the DBA. The Bar has nominated senior lawyer Shafiqur Rehman Advocate for the position. The committee will establish the facts surrounding the approval, construction and dismantling of the grey structure of the filtration plant. It will examine the administrative and procedural processes followed by the relevant authorities and determine whether there were any administrative, procedural or institutional lapses. It will also ascertain the immediate and underlying causes of the agitation involving members of the legal fraternity and revenue staff, and establish the sequence of events before, during and after the September 1 confrontation, including the circumstances in which violence allegedly broke out. The committee will further recommend measures to prevent a recurrence and improve coordination among the district administration, legal fraternity and revenue staff. Meanwhile, the DBA has approached the court under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), seeking directions for registration of a criminal case over the alleged incident. According to the Bar's petition, a Sessions Court employee was injured during the confrontation, while the water filtration plant, installed on the direction of the District and Sessions Judge, was damaged. The petition alleges that Cantt Police declined to register an FIR, prompting the Bar to seek judicial intervention. During proceedings, Additional District and Sessions Judge-V, Abbottabad, issued notices to those nominated in the Section 22-A application. The nominated persons include Sardar Gulfam, Shahnawaz, Naeem-ul-Haq Jadoon, Sardar Saeed, Hanif Gul, Shahid Saleem, Babu Khan, Babar, son of Sikandar, and Sher Dil Khan. The dispute arose after the district administration removed an under-construction filtration plant intended to provide drinking water to lawyers, litigants and court employees. The DBA alleged that the removal operation led to a confrontation and inappropriate treatment of members of the legal fraternity. The administration, however, maintained that the situation escalated into violence and resulted in damage to government property. The confrontation subsequently triggered a prolonged protest and boycott of court proceedings by lawyers in Abbottabad, affecting judicial and administrative activities elsewhere in Hazara Division.