ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Thursday declared that the degrees of its elected members, including prominent lawyer Ahsan Bhoon, were genuine. The announcement by the PBC — the supreme regulatory body of lawyers — follows a debate over lawyers’ degrees, with the qualification of Bhoon, a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), particularly being questioned. In an official statement on Thursday, the PBC noted that the returning officers (ROs) for the council’s 2020 and 2025 elections had gotten the elected members’ degrees verified from their respective universities before notifying them as PBC members. “It is, therefore, clarified that 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. It explained that the RO for PBC Election-2020, the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP), had the degrees verified by the universities soon after the elections, following which the successful candidates were notified as PBC members. Similarly, the RO for PBC Election-2025, also the AGP, again initiated the process of verification of the elected members’ degrees. “Some members whose degrees were already verified in the last elections, their degrees too were sent again for verification to the relevant universities as well as the Higher Education Commission (HEC),” the council maintained. The statement comes over a week after former MNA and retired Capt Muhammad Safdar called for verification of the degrees of prominent lawyers, including Bhoon, a close associate of Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. The debate also comes ahead of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections scheduled for Oct 29. Bhoon, a former SCBA president, heads the Independent Group, also known as the Asma Jahangir Group. Safdar has announced the formation of his own group, the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Group. Days later, Safdar moved a complaint with the JCP to seek verification of Bhoon’s educational qualifications, enrolment and professional credentials. The complaint had also sought verification of his original degrees, transcripts, result cards and registration records; independent confirmation from the degree-awarding institution; verification from the HEC; his complete enrolment record with the relevant provincial bar council and the PBC; and the dates and basis of his enrolment as an advocate. On the other hand, Bhoon has served a Rs5 billion defamation notice on Capt Safdar, demanding an unconditional public apology and retraction of the allegation that his LLB degree was fake. According to the notice, Safdar made the allegations while speaking publicly outside the Supreme Court on or about Sept 23, with remarks repeated in later media appearances and video messages.