QSO 1984 § Article 9 — Professional communications

Statutory text (English)

No advocate shall at any time be permitted, unless
with his client's express consent, to disclose any communication made to him in the course
and for the purpose of his employment as such advocate, by or on behalf of his client, or to
state the contents or condition of any document with which he has become acquainted in the
course and for the purpose of his professional employment, or to disclose any advice given
by him to his client in the course and for the purpose of such employment:

Provided that nothing in this Article shall protect from disclosure—

(1) any such communication made in furtherance of any illegal purpose, or

(2) any fact observed by any advocate, in the course of his employment as such, showing
that any crime or fraud has been committed since the commencement of his employment,
whether the attention of such advocate was or was not directed to such fact by or on behalf
of his client.

Explanation.— The obligation stated in this Article continues after the employment has
ceased.
Illustrations
(a) A, a client says to B, an advocate "I wish to obtain possession of property by the
use of a forged deed on which I request you to sue".
The communication, being made in furtherance of a criminal purpose, is not protected
from disclosure.
(b) A, being charged with embezzlement, retains B, an advocate, to defend him. In
the course of the proceedings, B observes that an entry has been made in A's
account book charging A with the sum said to have been embezzled, which entry
was not in the book at the commencement of his employment.
This being a fact observed by B in the course of his employment,showing that a fraud has
been committed since the commencement of the proceedings, it is not protected from
disclosure.

Source and verification

Source citation: Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 (P.O. No. X of 1984) Art. 9: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE QANUN-E-SHAHADAT ORDER 1984 (LAW OF EVIDENCE)' (P.O. No. X of 1984, last amended 2017-02-16 incl. Act No. IV of 2017), p. 12, 13, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 12, 13) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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