updates
Advocate Supreme Court
Our Senior Partner Ali Gohar Durrani has been enrolled as Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Video Link
We are pleased to announce that we have successfully provided our client appearance before the Peshawar High Court through Video Link Facility from the Pakistani High Commission in the UK. Our client was represented by our Managing Partner Zarak Arif Shah.
Celebrating 5 Years of Excellence!
Today, we at the Law Firm of Shah | Durrani |Khattak mark a significant milestone in our journey. It fills us with immense pride and gratitude to announce that we have successfully completed five years of providing exceptional legal services. It has been a remarkable journey filled with challenges, triumphs, and unwavering dedication.
Throughout these years, we have fearlessly embraced the unknown, stepping out of our comfort zone, and striving for excellence. With unwavering determination and a commitment to hard work, we have emerged victorious time and time again. We firmly believe that the pursuit of justice and upholding the rule of law is not just a profession but a calling.
We express our deepest gratitude to Allah Almighty, whose blessings and kindness have guided us on this path. From representing esteemed individuals like the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Finance Minister, and Defense Minister of Pakistan at the federal level to serving as trusted advisors to the Chief Minister, Governor, Finance Minister, and other provincial ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we have had the honor of working with extraordinary leaders. We have also had the privilege to represent Multi-nationals, Governmental and Non-Governmental clients as well as individuals from every walk of life. All of whom are happy and satisfied clients.
Our success would not have been possible without the remarkable teamwork and dedication of every associate/intern/clerical staff who have been a part of the SDK Family. We owe a debt of gratitude to each and every one of you. Your contributions have been invaluable, and together we have achieved great heights.
We extend heartfelt thanks to all our clients, supporters, benefactors, friends, and social media followers. Your trust, faith, and unwavering support have been the driving force behind our accomplishments. We are deeply grateful for your belief in our abilities and for entrusting us with your legal matters.
Last but certainly not least, we express our utmost gratitude to our families. You have been our pillars of strength, offering unwavering support and understanding during our pursuit of justice. We recognize the sacrifices you have made, and we are forever grateful for your love and encouragement.
As we move forward, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice and the rule of law. We will continue to navigate the complex legal landscape while upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethics.
Once again, thank you all for being an integral part of our incredible journey. Here’s to five years of exceptional legal service and to many more years of success and growth!
With gratitude,
Team SDK
Happy Eid everyone
Shah | Durrani | Khattak becomes First Law Firm from Pakistan to be on the Metaverse Standards Forum
The Law Firm of Shah | Durrani | Khattak becomes the first law firm in Pakistan to get the membership of the Metaverse Standards Forum and extend its services to KPITB and the Forum to make a more inclusive and open Metaverse possible
Another Victory, Court Directs enhanced financial assistance to the family of senior bureaucrat.
The Peshawar High Court has ordered the government to pay enhanced financial assistance to the family of a missing senior bureaucrat, Amjad Shahid Afridi, after the deduction of salary paid to it since his disappearance eight years ago.
A bench consisting of the Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Syed M Attique Shah accepted a petition of Mr Afridi’s wife Rozeena and declared illegal the Establishment Division’s April 2022 directives to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to give away the assistance package, which valued less than the one sought by the family of the BPS-20 officer.
The petitioner contended that Mr Afridi had gone missing in 2014 and therefore, the assistance package of that year should be paid to them, but the government had decided to pay them the 2015 package, which was far less than the previous year’s.
During hearing, the bench wondered why the government,instead of enhancing the assistance package for government servants, the government had reduced the same.
The petitioner’s lawyer, who is the Senior Partner at the best law firm of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and Peshawar in particular i.e., The Law Firm of Shah | Durrani | Khattak, Ali Gohar Durrani, said Mr Afridi was a BPS-20 officer of Pakistan Administrative Services, whose services was placed at the disposal of the provincial government in Feb 2014.
He added that the bureaucrat had gone missing on March 18, 2014, and an FIR for his disappearance was lodged with the police by his son.
The lawyer said the federal government had notified on Dec 29, 2015, the ‘missing’ status of his client’s husband.
He said in light of that notification, the finance department’s regulation wing had moved a summary for the provision of financial assistance in shape of monthly salary to the family of the officer.
He added that the summary was accepted in Dec 2016 allowing the family to withdraw the salary of the missing bureaucrat until the age of his superannuation.
Mr Durrani also said a summary submitted to the prime minister by the Establishment Division on Sept 8, 2017, was accepted and an office memorandum was issued declaring that the government employees, whose whereabouts were not found for 12 months, should be considered for the payment of compensation to their families.
The counsel said under that OM, the petitioner filed an application with the establishment department, which forwarded it to the Establishment Division.
He added that the Establishment Division asked the establishment department on Dec 19, 2019, to grant incentives or package to the family in question the assistance package, which is meant for the government employees, who died during service.
He said after correspondence, the Establishment Division wrote to the KP government on April 27, 2022, to extend assistance package issued through office memorandum on Dec 4, 2015.
Mr Durrani said Mr Afridi had gone missing in 2014 and therefore, the assistance package mentioned in the OM of Oct 20, 2014, was applicable to the family and not that of 2015.
He said under the 2014 OM, a grant of Rs9 million had to be provided to the family of an officer, who dies during service, while in the 2015 OM, the said amount was reduced to Rs3 million.
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Eid Greetings
Team SDK wishes a very happy Eid to all those celebrating across the globe.
Judicial Murder
Democracy is the best revenge. The way this slogan is raised by the leadership and followers of the Pakistan People’s Party always gave me chills. Because I for one had believed that yes, it is indeed the truth and nothing but the truth. As a student of law, having studied “equity will not suffer a wrong without a remedy”. These two statements albeit principles basically contemplate each other for me. Any practitioner of law would in all fairness side with the law and believe in the upholding of the principles of the rule of law. As a humble student and practitioner of law, over my short career spanning almost a decade I have learned, preached, taught, and practiced the ideals of rule of law. For without the guarantee that it’s the law that shall prevail, no society can prosper.
Keeping in view the ideals in mind, one if cannot call a spade a spade, would at least refrain from trying to project a wrong as a right and thus don’t side with the evil. This is not just a moral, ethical and legal duty but also stems from religious obligations as well. And as such it is a bounden duty to steer clear from wrongs. The events over the past one month in Pakistan, wherein a No Confidence Motion was brought by the opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan and all the steps that followed the said motion for all intents and purposes lay bare the claims of a flourishing democracy. Depending on which side you are on, horse trading or conscience awakening was at play. Friends and allies became enemies, whereas enemies remain what they were. Egos were let go by some and worshiped by others. Amidst this whole fiasco came the eventful day of April 03, 2022. When the Deputy Speaker through a ruling dismissed the resolution of No Confidence. Same day on a Sunday “which is a holiday per the judicial calendar”, the Honorable Supreme Court convenes and takes a Suo Moto which per the order sheet of the day was “as a result of various honorable judges approaching the Honorable Chief Justice to take action”. I would like to add that one day before this Suo Moto action, a petition in respect of the “alleged letter” was being returned by the Registrar of the Supreme Court terming it in violation of Article 69. The hearing on the Suo Moto which however took place over five days finally concluded on Friday, April 07, 2022 and the ruling of the Deputy Speaker was set aside. So were all the steps that followed the said ruling. And the honorable court directed to have the session of the assembly convene on April 09, 2022 at 10:30am. The judgment was lauded by all and sundry for burying the “doctrine of necessity”. People like me who are just average students of law also were part of the bandwagon who supported the judgment and sought it a great leap forward in the constitutional democracy of our country. The five honorable judges had for all intents and purposes vindicated the judicial organ in general and the institution of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in particular.
It seemed like the old days of judicial murders are finally behind us and we have finally crossed the judicial independence threshold. However, this thought and belief turned out to be very short lived, it lasted hardly 48 hours. Because the events that unfolded on April 09, 2022 very aptly describes the sorry state of affairs in the land of the pure. If you are mighty and powerful, courts will open in the middle of the night to call upon secretaries, entertain petitions, Commissions will open up to give certain “impressions”. Journalists will start vying as to what “orders” will be passed and who will be arrested. All of this happened within the span of a few hours. And all of it gave the ordinary Pakistani a very clear message that you don’t matter, courts cannot open for you on Saturday but will open on Sunday or in the middle of the night for important people. This isn’t the first time that it has happened. Previously for a former Prime Minister courts were opened on Saturday. I do not call bad or wrong the opening of courts on a holiday but why have it selective? There are matters of life and liberty pending before courts, I recall a news story that a person namely Mazhar Hussain was acquitted by the Honorable Supreme Court while he had died in prison two years prior to the hearing. The said exoneration came after 19years of him being charged of murder. Has anyone been held liable for it? Can anyone be held liable for this? The answer is a no. Because Mazhar Hussain “doesn’t matter”. Prime Minister Imran Khan matters, opposition parties matter. COAS matters. But ordinary citizens of Pakistan don’t matter.
By no means can the actions of the Deputy Speaker be condoned for what happened on April 03, 2022. The actions were wrong. However last night the events that unfolded and the way Supreme Court of Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan, Islamabad High Court were opened in the middle of the night, most certainly would always leave a question mark over the April 7th verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. And to add cherry on top of it, the Review Petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf against the April 07 verdict was apparently and reportedly not “entertained” because it was filed after the court hours. The verdict which was a judicial miracle and a beacon of hope for the believers in Constitutional Democracy in all honesty not by any means now seem to be a judicial triumph. And like always it would take a lot of doing to dispel that the notion of some shade of interference was never there to begin with. Judicial murders are never forgotten but the triumphs are lost very quickly in the shades of history with a small spec of doubt.
Ali Gohar Durrani
Advocate High Court (s)
Senior Partner
aligohar@sdklaw.org
