Babar Awan announces Rs1.8m for Khanewal bar
KHANEWAL: Federal Law Minister Dr Babar Awan said on Wednesday he would continue visiting bar associations across Punjab and other parts of the country despite facing criticism.
“Look I am a law minister, and it is my job description to meet lawyers and visit bar associations like other ministers who use to visit their departments concerned to solve their problems,” Babar said while addressing the District Bar Association here at District Courts.
He said the PPP government increased budget allocation to Balochistan province from Rs60 billion to Rs83 billion under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award for the first time in the history of Pakistan.
He said the government was stable and would complete its five-year tenure. “We have more than $16 billion foreign reserves, and there is no financial stress over the growing economy of our country,” he claimed.
He said the government’s special initiatives and attention towards Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) had enabled Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly to table their own budget for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
He said the government believed in the independence of the judiciary and would continue its efforts for justice. “In the past, I was trapped in a false and baseless case under terrorism charges but I showed patience just for the sake of democracy and rule of law.”
Talking about the 18th Amendment draft, he said the government had included most senior and respectable lawyers in the constitutional committee so as to involve them in the entire process of preparing the amendment.
He announced about Rs1.8 million for various development schemes of Khanewal Bar Association.
Prior to the arrival of the minister, two groups of lawyers had an exchange of harsh words over a dispute about inviting the law minister to the bar. According to a group, the DBA office-bearers didn’t get approval from the general council in this regard.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/22/2010
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