Quetta carnage: Lawyers demand Rangers be deployed for courts’ security

Govt given 7 days to improve security at courts

LAHORE/ FAISALABAD/MULTAN: Lawyers on Tuesday demanded the deployment of Rangers at the Lahore High Court (LHC) and district courts in the aftermath of the Quetta attack.

They were participating in a general house meeting held at Aiwan-i-Adl. District and Sessions Judge Nazir Ahmad Gajana, Senior Additional District and Sessions judge Chaudhry Munir Ahmed, Senior Civil Judge Amjad Ali Bajwa and a number of bar leaders were present.

Lahore Bar Association (LBA) secretary Shahid Nawab Cheema and general secretary Naeem Chohan gave the government seven days to improve security for lawyers. “We will lock the district courts. No one will be allowed to enter the premises if we are not provided foolproof security,” they said.

They also claimed the lawyers were vulnerable. “Any one can easily target us due to the lax security at district courts and at the high courts. The authorities should take steps to provide parking space for the district courts. If this is not done, we will occupy the road from PMG Chowk to the Civil Secretariat,” they said.

Advocate Chaudhry Ramazan said that Rangers should be deployed at the LHC and the district courts to stop any terrorist attack. “Policemen deployed at the courts are not competent and well-trained. Lawyers will launch a protest movement if their demands are not met,” he said.

Advocate Malik Arshad said that an Indian intelligence agency was behind the attack. “Our political leaders are strengthening business ties with India for their personal interests,” he said. He said that an LBA delegation should visit Quetta for offering condolences. He demanded that the government pay Rs15 million each to families of the people who had died in the attack.

Advocate GA Tariq said that the government was focused on political bickering with rivals instead of improving law and order. “Strikes, condemnations and protests are not the solution. We should fight against the system that has failed to protect the people,” he said.

District and Sessions Judge Nazir Ahmad Gajana said that he was going to meet the LHC chief justice and would convey the lawyers’ demands to him. “The government will also be informed of the demands,” he said.

Later, the lawyers offered funeral prayers in absentia for the people who had died in the Quetta attack.

Lawyers across Punjab condemn Quetta tragedy

Lawyers across the Punjab on Tuesday offered funeral prayers in absentia for the victims of Quetta blast.

In Faisalabad, funeral prayers were offered at the District Bar Association (DBA). A large number of lawyers, including DBA president Qaisar Nazeer Sahi and secretary Azhar Haneef Khan, were present. Talking to reporters, Khan strongly condemned the Quetta carnage. He demanded that the government take steps to improve security. “Lawyers of Faisalabad will observe a week of mourning,” he said.

Multan

The Multan and Bahawalpur district bar associations on Tuesday offered funeral prayers for victims of the Quetta blast. Lawyers organised rallies and observed a strike on the call of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to express solidarity with people who had died in the Quetta blast.

A large number of cases fixed for the day were adjourned, as lawyers did not show up in the courts.

Multan High Court Bar Association president Jamshed Hayat Sheikh said that there was a state of insecurity in Balochistan. “The federal and provincial governments have failed to maintain law and order in Balochistan,” he said. He demanded immediate arrest of those behind the attack.

Mian Abbas Ahmed called upon the heads of the government as well as security and law enforcement agencies to take appropriate steps to protect the life of all citizens, particularly lawyers. He urged the federal and the provincial governments to provide compensation to the families of the deceased.

The Multan Union of Journalists (MUJ) also condemned the Quetta attack. MUJ president Abdul Rauf Maan, Abdul Sattar Qamar, Syed Nadeem Shah, Nasir Abbas Zaidi and Gauhar Javed said that journalists would not be stopped from covering the truth.

Dera Ghazi Khan

Funeral prayers in absentia were also offered by lawyers, judges and government employees in Dera Ghazi Khan on Tuesday.

Khalid Abdullah Advocate led the prayers. A large number of people attended. They prayed for the deceased and the speedy recovery of the injured.

Dera Ghazi Khan District and Sessions Judge Malik Khalid Mehmood said that the security at the judicial complex and the lawyers’ chambers should be tightened. “Clerks should display identity cards and wear a formal uniform. The parking facility should be at a safe distance from the main building. There should be a single exit and entrance. Metal detectors and walkthrough gates should also be provided,” he said.

Women’s Action Forum

Women’s Action Forum on Tuesday condemned the assassination of Balochistan Bar Association president Bilal Anwar Kasi and the subsequent suicide attack in a Quetta hospital.

In a press statement, the WAF offered condolences to the bereaved families. “The WAF expresses its deep sympathy for the citizens in Quetta who have been the target of violence,” it said. The forum urged the government to take steps to save the people from terrorist attacks.

“The WAF calls upon all Pakistanis to continue to resist these pernicious attempts to destroy our society. These despicable cowardly acts are intended to spread horror, undermine citizens’ faith in the judicial system of Pakistan and tear apart the social fabric,” it said.

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