Threats to SC advocate: LTBA urges CJP to order legal action...

Threats to SC advocate: LTBA urges CJP to order legal action against FBR officials

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to uphold the supremacy of law and initiate legal action against Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials who allegedly issued threats of “severe consequences” to an Advocate Supreme Court for exposing corrupt practices within the tax machinery. According to a letter issued by the LTBA, copies of which have been sent to the President of Pakistan, Prime Minister, Chief Justice Lahore High Court, Minister for Law, Chairman FBR, Pakistan Bar Council, President Lahore High Court Bar Association, and President Supreme Court Bar Association, the Bar’s Cabinet and Members have strongly condemned the use of threatening and contemptuous language by an FBR officer. The letter cites that the officer’s “irresponsible blame-shifting” attempts to deflect attention from established facts and, without any proof, resorts to intimidation, warning of “severe consequences” for the lawyer, Waheed Shahzad Butt, who has consistently raised his voice against corruption and maladministration within the FBR. The LTBA has called upon the judiciary and the government to ensure that no public officer is allowed to intimidate or threaten members of the legal fraternity, emphasizing that rule of law and independence of the Bar must be preserved at all costs. This is also against the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023, particularly Sections 2 and 9, defines “intimidation, threat, coercion, insult, or interference” with a lawyer performing his professional duty as an offence punishable under law. The LTBA has urged the government to (i) Initiate the disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 (ii) Direct the said tax employee to issue a written apology and submit the same before the FTO (iii) Refer the matter to the relevant Police Authorities for registration of a FIR against the said tax employee under the applicable provisions of the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023, in view of the intimidation and harassment caused to a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the LTBA added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

According to a letter issued by the LTBA, copies of which have been sent to the President of Pakistan, Prime Minister, Chief Justice Lahore High Court, Minister for Law, Chairman FBR, Pakistan Bar Council, President Lahore High Court Bar Association, and President Supreme Court Bar Association, the Bar’s Cabinet and Members have strongly condemned the use of threatening and contemptuous language by an FBR officer.

The letter cites that the officer’s “irresponsible blame-shifting” attempts to deflect attention from established facts and, without any proof, resorts to intimidation, warning of “severe consequences” for the lawyer, Waheed Shahzad Butt, who has consistently raised his voice against corruption and maladministration within the FBR.

The LTBA has called upon the judiciary and the government to ensure that no public officer is allowed to intimidate or threaten members of the legal fraternity, emphasizing that rule of law and independence of the Bar must be preserved at all costs.

This is also against the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023, particularly Sections 2 and 9, defines “intimidation, threat, coercion, insult, or interference” with a lawyer performing his professional duty as an offence punishable under law. The LTBA has urged the government to (i) Initiate the disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 (ii) Direct the said tax employee to issue a written apology and submit the same before the FTO (iii) Refer the matter to the relevant Police Authorities for registration of a FIR against the said tax employee under the applicable provisions of the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023, in view of the intimidation and harassment caused to a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the LTBA added.