On different pages: Lawyers divided over court staffer thrashing

Those with latter demand cancellation of former’s licences

LAHORE: The lawyers who were once on the same page on various issues have now split into groups over the thrashing of a court employee.

The former vice president of Lahore Bar Association, MR Awan, who is stated to be the relative of Faisal, who was thrashed, has conveyed to the district and sessions judge, Nazir Ahmed Gajana, and LBA President Arshad Jahangir Jhojha that they will remain restless until their demands were fulfilled and action was taken against the lawyers who beat Faisal. They have demanded registration of an FIR against the lawyers under Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and suspension of their licences.

The group of lawyers who thrashed Faisal was led by Advocate Malik Imran.



However, on the other hand, some bar representatives believe the issue between lawyers was being cashed on by Lahore High Court. The court is believed to be holding the issue against the lawyers in light of a past event in which lawyers stood against the chief justice and demanded his resignation. They had taken the step after the chief justice’s supervisory committee suspended the licence of LBA Vice-President Rana Saeed Anwar over charges of misconduct with an additional district and sessions judge.

On Wednesday, the court employees, led by Faisal, protested and suspended the court’s work for an hour. Later, additional district and sessions judges Sher Abbas Awan and Shazeb Saeed reached there and sought three days to fulfill their demands.

Bearing witness

On the same day, a judge also submitted a report to the district and sessions judge’s office, stating he was present in the court when a lawyer came and asked Faisal the address of judge Usman Majeed’s  courtroom. The judge said when Faisal did not provide the information the lawyer along with others started beating him.

A scuffle broke out on October 18 over which the court employees protested at the district court and then marched towards LHC.

According to a relevant official, over 10 relatives of Faisal are lawyers, including two brothers and an uncle. He added they had decided to take action against the lawyers who thrashed Faisal. Faisal met the chief justice of LHC on October 18, when he was beaten. The official said the chief justice told Faisal he was standing with him. The chief justice sought video of the scuffle and a written application from Faisal, the official said.

While talking to The Express Tribune LBA Secretary Naeem Chohan said rumours were rife about the division of lawyers, but they will not create an atmosphere in which lawyers stood against each other.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.