ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Thursday said universities concerned verified the academic credentials of its members, including its former vice chairman Ahsan Bhoon, amid calls for scrutiny of the lawyer’s qualifications.
The clarification comes days after former Capt Safdar, the son-in-law of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, approached the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), seeking verification of Bhoon’s educational qualifications, enrolment and professional credentials.
Bhoon, a former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and ex-PBC vice chairman, heads the Independent Group, also known as the Asma Jahangir Group. He is also considered a close associate of Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
In a statement, the PBC said the degrees of its elected members had been verified directly from the relevant universities following the 2020 council elections.
According to the council, the then returning officer, who was the attorney general for Pakistan, obtained verification of the degrees of successful candidates from their respective universities before formally notifying them as PBC members.
It said the verification exercise had been repeated for the members elected in the 2025 PBC elections.
Degrees that had already been verified during the previous election were also sent to the relevant universities and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for fresh verification.
“The verification of the degrees of the returned candidates, including that of Bhoon, was undertaken through the relevant universities in accordance with the prescribed procedure,” the council said.
The statement appears to have been issued in response to questions raised over Bhoon’s credentials, particularly as the legal community prepares for the SCBA elections scheduled for Oct 29.
Last week, CaptSafdar submitted a complaint to the JCP seeking verification of Bhoon’s educational qualifications, enrolment and professional record.
The complaint called for scrutiny of his original degrees, transcripts, result cards and registration records, as well as independent confirmation from the degree-awarding institution and verification by the HEC.
It also sought Bhoon’s complete enrolment record with the relevant provincial bar council and the PBC, including the dates and basis on which he was enrolled as an advocate.
The PBC, however, maintained that the academic credentials of its elected members had already gone through the prescribed verification process, both after the 2020 elections and during the latest electoral cycle.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026