Lawyers riot after LHC orders arrest of Multan bar chief

Lawyers clash with police as a larger bench issues non-bailable warrants of arrest for LHCBA Multan president

LAHORE: Lawyers on Monday vandalised the Lahore High Court (LHC) building and other properties and scuffled with police after the a bench issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Sher Zaman Qureshi, president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Multan Chapter.

The five-judge larger bench of the LHC – comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Anwarul Haq, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Ameer Bhatti and Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza – issued the order after Qureshi did not appear before the bench in a case of contempt of court.

The larger bench also suspended license of Qureshi as it directed regional police officer (RPO) Multan to arrest and present Qureshi before the court on the next date of hearing.

On July 24, Qureshi and other lawyers allegedly attacked the court of Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan in LHC Multan Bench, tore off the judge’s name plate and trampled it under their feet. After the incident, the LHC chief justice withdrew judges from the Multan Bench.

What did they eat for breakfast this morning 🤔#LHC pic.twitter.com/FrFiknVzvD

— Dr. Sharmila sahibah faruqui (Phd) s.i (@sharmilafaruqi) August 21, 2017

A committee – comprising Justice Yawar Ali and Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi – was also constituted to provide an opportunity to the LHCBA to resolve the matter. Later the five-judge bench started contempt of court proceedings against the LHCBA Multan president.

In the previous hearing, representatives of the Pakistan Bar Council, the Punjab Bar Council and the LHCBA had assured the larger bench that Qureshi would appear before the bench, but he did not turn up on Monday. Qureshi had been issued four notices.

As the bench issued the order, the lawyers launched a violent protest against the judges and started marching towards the courtroom of Justice Shah of the LHC. The police and Rangers officials deputed there tried to stop them but the lawyers broke an iron gate inside the court premises, while chanting slogans.

In a bid to stop the lawyers from entering the Chief Justice’s block, the police later used teargas and water cannon. In response, the lawyers also pelted stones on police. As a result, nine police officials and eight lawyers were badly injured and were taken to Lahore's Mayo Hospital.



The lawyers continued their protest at the Mall Road which caused a traffic jam on the artery. Due to the clashes, the shops and businesses in the adjoining areas were also closed down.

Lawyer’s sit-in

Later, the lawyers staged a sit-in for an indefinite period at the judge’s gate of the LHC in protest against the arrest order. The charged lawyers sat in front of the judge’s gate where they ate ‘biryani’ and claimed that they would not postpone their sit-in until the order was withdrawn.

Talking to The Express Tribune advocate Malik Arshad said issuance of non-bailable arrest warrant was illegal as it was the matter which Punjab Bar Council was to tackle. He held the LHC chief justice responsible for the scuffle between lawyers and police officials.



Province-wide strike

Representatives of different bar associations vowed to observe a complete strike against the conduct and aggression of the Punjab police at the LHC. In a press conference, LHCBA President Chaudhary Zlifqar Ali said the legal fraternity would observe a strike on Tuesday (today).

“Punjab Bar Council, Lahore Bar Association, Bar Associations of Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and other districts will also observe a strike,” he added.

Chief justices meet

After that a meeting was held at the Supreme Court Registry between the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar and LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. It was decided during the meeting that supremacy of the law would be ensured and protection and dignity of the courts would be maintained.