Bar councils in Punjab, Sindh and KP call strike on August 22
Lawyers to protest against arrests of their leaders in cities including Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi
LAHORE/KARACHI (Dunya News) – Bar councils called strike on August 22 in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) against the arrest of leaders of lawyer associations.
Lawyers from cities including Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other will stage protests in their respective cities. Lawyers staged a protest outside Lahore High Court (LHC) today where they turned Mall Road into a battlefield.
It all started when a larger bench of LHC ordered arrest of president Multan bench Sher Zaman Qureshi and secretary Qaisar Abbas. Lawyers created a ruckus in reaction and even attempted to enter LHC Chief Justice’s chamber. They not only broke the main entrance gate but also smashed the walk through gate which was set for security reasons, torturing a policeman on duty and blocking the road for traffic later on.
Anti-Riot Force (ARF) forced them out of the court premises by using water cannons and tear gas. Similar scenes were seen in other cities in Multan where protests were staged against the court orders at Kachehri Chowk.
The call of protest was given for Tuesday after general body of Karachi Bar Council met today. In Gujranwala, lawyers announced a boycott of court activities while blocking Sialkot Road. Community of traders sided with the lawyers in Faisalabad and protested with them on the roads.
Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib will also witness protests tomorrow.
Reaction of senior lawyers
Several senior lawyers called the riots unfortunate while condemning the violence manufactured against court s orders. Aitzaz Ahsan said leaders of lawyer associations should have stopped the protests by stepping forward, adding that incidents of torture emerged when the struggle is honest. Punjab govt wants to keep the judiciary under pressure, he claimed.
Justice (retd) Shaiq Usmani said he felt disappointed at the behaviour of lawyers and reaction after verdict against lawyers. They all converged that Pakistan Bar Council should consider the matter in an appropriate manner.
