Lawyers across Sindh hold demonstrations to press for justice for those who were slain

Members of the bar boycott courts to pay homage to May 12 victims.

KARACHI:

A black day was observed on Thursday by the legal fraternity of Sindh to pay homage to those who were killed in the violence on May 12, 2007 and April 9, 2008. The Sindh Bar Council (SBC) and the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) also held a rally on M A Jinnah road demanding justice and inquiries into the carnage.

It was on May 12, 2007 when Karachi witnessed one of its most violent days in recent history. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was non-functional at the time, had arrived in the city to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA). However, he was stranded as fierce gun battles broke out in the streets leading towards the airport, killing 45 people, including several lawyers. The Tahir Plaza incident on April 9 occurred during the height of the lawyer’s movement to reinstate the judiciary. Ten people were burnt alive when a mob attacked the plaza, which housed the offices of several lawyers.

The metropolis would continue to witness bloodshed through target killings and murders unless the perpetrators of May 12 and April 9 incidents are caught and punished, said senior lawyers during a general body meeting of the SHCBA.

Rasheed Razvi, ex-president SHCBA, said in his speech that the current Chief Justice Musheer Alam was one of the judges who were denied entry to the Sindh High Court on May 12. In his current position, he has the authority to re-open the suo motu proceedings into the carnage. Razvi demanded the establishment of a judicial commission to probe the events and other killings of lawyers as well as the trial of former dictator Pervez Musharraf. He proposed that the SHCBA, KBA and SBC jointly move court for re-opening of May 12 cases.

SHCBA President Anwar Mansoor Khan, in his speech, questioned why law enforcement agencies deployed to ensure peace and calm were unarmed while the culprits possessed sophisticated weapons. The police offered absolutely no resistance, he said. There needs to be an independent inquiry into the carnage.

The meeting later unanimously adopted a resolution vowing that it would continue to struggle for justice so that the perpetrators of May 12 are revealed. The resolution also called upon the judiciary to reopen the May 12 probe on the basis of questions framed by a seven member bench of the Sindh High Court. Black flags were hoisted atop the SHCBA premises and court proceedings were suspended after 10:30 am.

Protests in Sukkur

The legal fraternity, throughout upper Sindh, boycotted court proceedings and organised protest rallies to observe May 12.

Lawyers from Sukkur, Pannu Aqil, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Jacobabad, Thal, Kandhkot, Kashmore, Shikarpur and other cities took part in this demonstration.

In Sukkur, lawyers wearing black arm bands were led by the Sukkur high court bar association general secretary, Qurban Malano, and the Sukkur district bar association president, Shafqat Raheem. The rally started from the district and sessions court and ended at Minara road, where a demonstration was staged. Talking to The Express Tribune, Raheem demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan take a suo moto notice of the May 12 massacre. He also demanded that the case be run in the Sindh high court circuits at Hyderabad, Larkana or Sukkur, because the “terrorists” will not allow proceedings in Karachi.

Malano added that so far no FIR had been registered in this regard, which was highly condemnable. He also demanded that the Sindh bar council approve a compensation of Rs2 million for each ‘martyred’ lawyer.

Laywers in Hyderabad respond to strike-call

On the call of the Sindh bar council and the Hyderabad district bar association, lawyers boycotted court proceedings on Thursday.

They reiterated their demand to the Chief Justice of Pakistan for taking a suo moto notice against the culprits that killed 45 people, including lawyers and political activists, in Karachi on May 12, 2007.

The bar association offices hoisted black flags and the lawyers organised a rally and staged a demonstration in the premises of the court building. The lawyers also demanded that the government prove its democratic credentials by taking action against those involved.

With additional reporting by Sohail Khattak, Z Ali and Sarfaraz Memon

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2011.