Assaulting Gujjar Khan police: Strike expands to Pindi division courts
Lawyers warn of staging protest outside offices of senior police officers; police say FIR won’t be rescinded
Lawyers warn of staging protest outside offices of senior police officers; police say FIR won’t be rescinded. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
RAWALPINDI:
Litigants had to suffer as lawyers in Rawalpindi on Wednesday boycotted court proceedings to protest against what they termed was unbecoming behaviour of the Gujjar Khan police towards lawyers.
The strike was observed on a call from the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Rawalpindi chapter President Zaffar
Mahmood Mughal.
As a result, courts in Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, and Jhelum remained largely empty on Wednesday.
Proceedings also remained suspended at the district courts and at the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench with lawyers staying away from courtroom proceedings
Meanwhile, the criminal justice system remained suspended in Gujjar Khan for a third consecutive day.
The lawyers had been demanding cancellation of a FIR which had been registered by the Gujar Khan police against six lawyers and three of clerks for allegedly beating SI Muhammad Aslam in court premises on Saturday.
They also want the senior police officials to transfer the Aslam out of Gujjar Khan.
Meanwhile, at a meeting of lawyers at the Gujjar Khan Bar on Wednesday, they criticised police for registering a criminal case against their colleagues and vowed to continue their protest till their demands were fulfilled.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Rawalpindi District Bar Association President and member of the Punjab Bar Council Sajjad Akbar Abbasi said that he had spoken to Gujjar Khan ASP Syed Muhammad Ali for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
However, he said that the police were not ready to cancel the FIR or transfer the SI. Hence, the lawyers would continue their boycott.
He added that the bar is expected hold a convention of lawyers at the Rawalpindi Bar on Saturday where they were likely to back the Gujjar Khan Bar President Asad Umer who was among the six been nominated in the FIR.
Abbasi added that the lawyers also planned to stage a protest outside the offices of senior police officers in Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, a senior Rawalpindi police officer confided that the police could not cancel the FIR. The officer added that Aslam had been beaten black and blue by lawyers within court premises, and a medical examination had confirmed it. He added that three of the clerks named in the case had already obtained pre-arrest bail in the case.
He added that the senior police officials had also written letters to the Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council, registrars of Supreme Court, and registrars of the LHC to cancel licenses of the lawyers involved in beating up the police official.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2017.
Litigants had to suffer as lawyers in Rawalpindi on Wednesday boycotted court proceedings to protest against what they termed was unbecoming behaviour of the Gujjar Khan police towards lawyers.
The strike was observed on a call from the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Rawalpindi chapter President Zaffar
Mahmood Mughal.
As a result, courts in Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, and Jhelum remained largely empty on Wednesday.
Proceedings also remained suspended at the district courts and at the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench with lawyers staying away from courtroom proceedings
Meanwhile, the criminal justice system remained suspended in Gujjar Khan for a third consecutive day.
The lawyers had been demanding cancellation of a FIR which had been registered by the Gujar Khan police against six lawyers and three of clerks for allegedly beating SI Muhammad Aslam in court premises on Saturday.
They also want the senior police officials to transfer the Aslam out of Gujjar Khan.
Meanwhile, at a meeting of lawyers at the Gujjar Khan Bar on Wednesday, they criticised police for registering a criminal case against their colleagues and vowed to continue their protest till their demands were fulfilled.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Rawalpindi District Bar Association President and member of the Punjab Bar Council Sajjad Akbar Abbasi said that he had spoken to Gujjar Khan ASP Syed Muhammad Ali for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
However, he said that the police were not ready to cancel the FIR or transfer the SI. Hence, the lawyers would continue their boycott.
He added that the bar is expected hold a convention of lawyers at the Rawalpindi Bar on Saturday where they were likely to back the Gujjar Khan Bar President Asad Umer who was among the six been nominated in the FIR.
Abbasi added that the lawyers also planned to stage a protest outside the offices of senior police officers in Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, a senior Rawalpindi police officer confided that the police could not cancel the FIR. The officer added that Aslam had been beaten black and blue by lawyers within court premises, and a medical examination had confirmed it. He added that three of the clerks named in the case had already obtained pre-arrest bail in the case.
He added that the senior police officials had also written letters to the Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council, registrars of Supreme Court, and registrars of the LHC to cancel licenses of the lawyers involved in beating up the police official.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2017.