Rangers to secure courts across the province

Lawyers’ associations meet paramilitary force’s chief

KARACHI: The Rangers have reportedly assured lawyers to take over the security of courts across Sindh to thwart any possible incident of terrorism akin to the Civil Hospital, Quetta bomb blast, which resulted in the deaths of more than 70 people.

The decision for the paramilitary force’s deployment was reportedly taken at a meeting of the representatives of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Sindh Bar Council, Sindh High Court Bar Association and others with the Sindh Rangers director-general (DG) Major-General Bilal Akbar.



However, the Rangers spokesperson did not confirm the development.

PBC vice-chairperson Senator Farogh Naseem later told reporters that soon after the Quetta tragedy, the Rangers DG was contacted to seek security for the courts and lawyers in the province.

During an hour-long meeting with Akbar, the members of the bar councils and associations voiced their concerns regarding their vulnerabilities. The top regulatory body’s vice-chairperson said that he will be conducting such meetings with the paramilitary force’s directors-general in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and Balochistan as well to chalk out a nationwide security plan for the security of lawyers and courts and will get the same implemented.



The PBC vice-chairperson said that the DG ordered the immediate deployment of the personnel of the paramilitary force at the buildings and installations of the high court, the sessions and special courts and tribunals all over the province. He said that the Rangers had also started the process of registration of the members of the legal fraternity and the judiciary on mobile phone applications. According to Naseem, the members of the bar councils and associations expressed satisfaction on the security arrangements.



However, a senior Rangers official told The Express Tribune that as it is a lengthy process, the paramilitary force is preparing a contingency plan on how to protect the courts.

Widening scope

According to Naseem, during the meeting, the Rangers DG said the Supreme Court had also passed orders regarding security of the courts after the terrorist attack on the district courts in Islamabad in 2014. 

Starting from Sindh

Regarding the PBC’s efforts for the lawyers’ security countrywide, Naseem said they had initiated the process from Sindh, which was more vulnerable to such attacks. He said that meetings will be held with the chiefs of the security agencies in all other provinces, along with Azad  Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to act proactively. Responding to a query about the cases involving the lawyers’ targeted killings, he said the Rangers DG shared the facts and figures regarding the status of these cases.

Rangers DG meets CM

The chief of the paramilitary force also called on Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. Official sources described the meeting as a ‘courtesy call’ but the two reportedly also discussed the overall issues of law and order, the on-going targeted operation in Karachi and related matters.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2016.