LHCBA Multan president on the run

High court orders Zaman’s arrest, wants him presented today

MULTAN: The Lahore High Court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for LHCBA Multan President Sher Zaman in a contempt of court case, but reports have emerged that the lawyer has now turned fugitive

A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Lahore High Court Mansoor Ali Shah, ordered the arrest of Zaman and told authorities to produce him before the court on Tuesday (today). The LHC also suspended the licences of Sher Zaman Qureshi and Multan Bar Secretary Qaiser Kazmi. During the hearing, lawyers chanted slogans and started a ruckus by trying to enter the courtroom.



The police cordoned off the entrance and a tussle ensued between the two sides. Later, the lawyers took to the Mall Road in protest, disrupting the flow of traffic. More than 200 lawyers went on strike on Monday and held a sit-in to protest “police high-handedness” and an “unjust” court ruling.

Police attempted to arrest Zaman from the court, but other lawyers foiled the attempt. The legal fraternity protested against the arrest orders at Multan's Katcheri Chowk and vowed to continue with their agitation till they were withdrawn.

Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Muhammad Saleem Qureshi raided Zaman’s office to arrest him, but could not find the lawyer. He later went to the district bar, but Zaman was nowhere to be seen.

Sources said Zaman had gone off the grid and was last seen earlier on Monday, escaping the district bar on a motorcycle. The CPO assured that Zaman would be arrested by all means and produced before the LHC on Tuesday (today). However, lawyers based in Multan said the legal fraternity leader would appear before the LHC chief justice himself if the warrants for his arrest were withdrawn. They denied that Qureshi had run away and claimed that he is “among them”.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government is trying to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner. Replying to a question, he said authorities were exercising caution in their response in Lahore to avoid an even more violent reaction across the country by the legal fraternity.



On July 24, 2017, Zaman and other lawyers allegedly misbehaved with senior judge Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan and obstructed the judicial proceedings of his court at the Multan bench. They also allegedly vandalised and ransacked the court premises before taking down the judge’s nameplate.

Expressing displeasure over the lawyers’ behaviour, the LHC chief justice withdrew the judges from the Multan bench. The incident also led to a boycott of regional courts by the lawyers.

A heavy contingent of police cordoned off the entrance to the courtroom and a tussle between the two sides ensued.

Meanwhile, lawyers of the LHCBA Multan chapter and district bar are divided over the case against Zaman. Two groups of lawyers held a demonstration at Katcheri Chowk in Multan on Monday. One group sided with the bar president, who had been demanding the resignation of the LHC CJ, while the other protested against Zaman. The latter group demonstrated against the senior lawyer for defaming the chief justice of the Lahore High Court.

A group of lawyers, led by Advocate Shehbaz Ali Khan Gurmani, a candidate for Multan District Bar Association president, demanded that all those lawyers defaming the CJ should be dealt with an iron fist. He said Zaman was an agent of PML-N and tried to incite lawyers to fulfil his ulterior motives. “We support the judiciary and are against Sher Zaman Qureshi who wants to play with the lives of lawyers,” said Gurmani.

He demanded the Pakistan and Punjab bar councils cancel the licences of all those lawyers who have made their profession a business and are maligning the judiciary. He said that respect for the courts was a prerequisite of the profession. “If the lawyers themselves do not respect the judiciary, nobody else will,” he added.

Supreme Court Advocate Mian Abbas said Sher Zaman Qureshi was called by the Lahore High Court, but he failed to appear and committed the offence of contempt of court. “His presence before the court would have increased the dignity of lawyers.” He likened Zaman to former dictator Ziaul Haq and said that the LHCBA Multan president had taken away the freedom of speech of lawyers.

Former LHCBA Multan president Advocate Arbab Ahmed Syed said lawyers should be impartial and not become a tool in the hands of a political party. He said legal fraternity members who sided with Sher Zaman Qureshi were also guilty of contempt of court.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2017.