Real Kashmir 
BY ZUHAIB ZAHID
The silence of the self-proclaimed Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association-Kashmir, on whole-hearted condemnation of killing of Army and police officials in the Anantnag encounter on Wednesday at a time when the Union Territory and the nation together is deeply enraged over Pakistan sponsored terrorism, again unmasks the illegal Association’s professional duplicity and sympathy towards terrorists and secessionist elements.
Chairman and Convener of illegal JKHCBA, issued a statement to media on Thursday, expressing just “grief on the sad demise of DYSP (JKP) Humanyun Bhat” who it said was nephew of its member, advocate Hameed Bhat — a resident of Tral in Kashmir.
Shockingly, the illegal Bar Association abstained from using word “terror” or “terrorists” in the media statement to describe the martyrdom of the courageous DySP Bhat and merely resorted to phrases– “sad demise”, “death” and “deep sympathy” — to express their condolences, purposely meant to be half-hearted to allegedly please their terror masters in and beyond the J&K .
Just read what the Chairman wrote: “The Bar Association while condoling the death of the deceased expresses its deep sympathy and solidarity with the members of the bereaved family in the hour of grief especially with Mr Zahid Hameed Bhat”. Technically, the Association can issue condolence message for a family member or a relative of a Bar member but what stopped them from stating in the statement that Bhat, son of a former senior police officer, sacrificed his life in an encounter with terrorists, wondered a J&K high court lawyer.
The statement actually showed the Bar Association’s disrespect for their own brethren and towards Jammu and Kashmir police, which has set extreme professional standards to go beyond policing duties and perform the combat role akin to armed forces. No less exemplary is their lack of hesitation to lay down their lives to protect people of the UT from the clutches of terror outfits executing Pakistan’ proxy war.
The illegal Bar Association’s letter completely skipped expression of grief on the death of Colonel Manpreet Singh, the CO of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, and Major Ashish Dhonchak. Both Army officers also fell along with DySP Bhat in the encounter which continues for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday. It demonstrates the illegal Association’s contempt for Indian Army personnel who have time and again showed exemplary heroics to protect the nation at every challenge since Independence.
Put together, the letter by default exposes the Association lawyer members’ professional dishonesty and disbelief in the Constitution of India. This is too serious an issue to brush aside. How can people of Jammu and Kashmir hope to get justice when its High Court Bar association does not appear to have faith in its own system and law of the land.
Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud, heading a five-member bench of Supreme Court, had early this month sought an apology from National Conference MP Mohd Akbar Lone and an affidavit swearing allegiance to Indian Constitution while hearing petition on abrogation of Article 370. This was after the Centre stated that as MLA Lone had raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan inside the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in 2018.
What is more noteworthy is that Congress leader-cum-senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing Lone in the Apex Court, told the Bench that he would not have taken up the case of the NC leader if he had known about this incident earlier. That’s the level of professionalism expected from a lawyer.
This, however, is not a lone trigger unraveling JKHCBA’s secessionist agenda. The illegal Association has dubious history of openly siding with terrorists and taking up their cases pro-bono to feed terror ecosystem that fanned hatred, spread lawlessness and crippled life and growth of J&K and its people for over seven decades.
A three-judge Disciplinary Committee,constituted by Jammu and Kashmir High Court on a petition filed by the UT authority last year,has reserved orders on charges seeking action against three leading lawyers, including former Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom, for indulging in “professional misconduct” and secessionist activities.
The panel in its one of the previous hearings had observed: “Having gone through the contents of the complaint and material placed on record, we are of the view that, prima facie, the allegations levelled by the Law Secretary against the three Advocates constitute professional and other misconduct.” Mian Qayoom, Nazir Ahmad Ronga and Ghulam Nabi Thoker alias Shaheen are three advocates who might lose their individual licence to practise if the verdict goes against them.
The J&K administration in its complaint on Qayoom, Ronga and Shaheen has alleged that the trio were presidents of High Court Bar association of Kashmir (HCBA) which functioned as a general council constituent of the separatist All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) from 1993 till the hardliners split a decade later. The illegal HCBA held on to the Hurriyat’s divisive ideology without joining any of its factions, organised and participated in demonstrations for ‘Azadi’ and were proponents of a “resolution of the Kashmir dispute under the UN resolutions or tripartite talks”. But, never ever action was taken against them or their associates by parties in power all these decades, which indicated that they were soft towards terror.
The present ruling dispensation cracked the whip post advocate Babar Qadri’s assassination in Srinagar nearly three years ago on September 24, 2020. It was suspected that Qayoom was part of the conspiracy to get Qadri assassinated since as president of the illegal HCBA, the latter had expelled the former.
Illegal HCBA is not a registered body and doesn’t believe in Indian Constitution. Following a Srinagar District Magistrate’s report that the Bar Association was allegedly peddling separatist activity, it was not allowed to hold elections and remains an illegal entity.
The practitioners of law can longer be practioners of terror, the government should make it clear once again in the interest of democracy and nation.
EOM
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the opinions of REAL KASHMIR in any way
