Dhaka: The National Lawyers Alliance (NLA), the lawyers’ wing of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has called for the abolition of the current ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Bar Council, criticizing it as opaque and ineffective. Additionally, the NLA has demanded immediate elections for the Bar Council and the abolition of ad hoc committees for all bar associations across the country, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, as well as the Dhaka and Chattogram bars.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the demand was made public during a press briefing held at the Supreme Court premises, where NLA’s Central Member Secretary Ershadul Bari Khandakar represented the organization. Present at the briefing were Central Convener SM Azmal Hossain Bacchu, Joint Conveners Mustafa Azgar Sharifi, Joint Member Secretaries Advocate Nazmus Sakib, Sefayet Ullah, Bishwanath Karmakar, Mary Akter, and Chief Organizer Sakil Ahmad.
It was emphasized during the press conference that the provisions for an ad hoc committee are not part of the Bar Council’s order or rules. The NLA expressed concerns that the ad hoc committee has jeopardized the futures of many individuals, demonstrating irresponsibility, incompetence, and a lack of transparency by canceling the results of 1,914 candidates who passed through review applications. The organization stated that the committee lacks the moral authority to hold a position within an institution like the Bar Council.