PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Arsalan Khan Nazim has criticized Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi for announcing grants for bar associations just days before the Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council elections, terming it an attempt to influence the legal community. Addressing a special meeting of the lawyers’ election campaign organized by ANP Metropolitan at the residence of ANP Metropolitan President Arbab Rashid Samin, Arsalan Khan said the timing of the announcement raised serious questions about the government’s intentions. “The Chief Minister suddenly remembered today that grants are to be given to the Bar Councils, just before the elections. This political bribery cannot buy the conscience of lawyers,” he remarked. He further challenged the Chief Minister to disclose how many grants had been given to bar councils during his current tenure and in the previous two terms, saying that the abrupt move appeared politically motivated. The meeting was attended by Provincial President of the Association of Lawyers and candidate for the Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council Rafiq Mohmand, President of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association Aminur Rehman Advocate, ANP Metropolitan President Arbab Rashid Samin, General Secretary Rahmat Shah, President of the ANP Association of Lawyers Peshawar Farman Ali, and President of the Peshawar Bar Association Qaiser Zaman Advocate, among others.
