Lawyers to boycott K-P courts today

Black coats urge government to enhance security <br /> at courts

PESHAWAR: A shooting inside the bar room at the Peshawar Judicial Complex on Saturday morning in which left three people were injured sent a wave of fear through lawyers and litigants, with the former deciding to boycott all court proceedings throughout the province on Monday.

Following Saturday’s incident, lawyers had called an emergency meeting of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Bar Council to discuss the situation and chart a course of action to safeguard the lives of lawyers and visitors at courts.



Lawyers stated that courts have been targeted by militants in the past in which a number of lawyers have lost their lives. They added that the entry of a man with a gun in hand into the complex had exposed the level of security arrangements for courts at the complex.

Strongly condemning the attack, the K-P Bar Council announced to go on a strike where they will completely boycott all court proceedings throughout the province on Monday.

The district bar councils were also directed to not attend the court proceedings and hold meetings to provide recommendations to K-P bar council to decide the future course of action.

“We demand that the K-P and the federal government provide complete security at all courts,” said Malik Khaliq Dad Awan, the chairman of the executive committee of the K-P Bar council.

During the meeting, he urged the government to provide the best possible medical care to the injured.

Dilating on security concerns of the lawyers, Awan said that the council had written a number of letters to the K-P Inspector General of Police expressing concerns over security arrangements at the complex.

Awan, however, lamented that they have received no response to their letters so far.

Meanwhile, K-P Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan has taken notice of the incident and has directed the concerned authorities to present a complete report on the matter.

The minister strongly condemned the attack and promised that its perpetrators will be punished according to the law.

The minister further assured that security arrangements at barrooms and courts will be further tightened.

At least three people, including a lawyer and a litigant, were injured when a man opened fire in the bar room. Police said that Saeedullah, a resident of Chamkani area of the city, had shot at Lal Sher. However, Saeedullah could only injure Sher along with his lawyer Yousaf Riaz Khalil and a tea boy Tariq.



The attacker, who had a dispute with Sher, was arrested by police as he tried to flee the court complex.

He had managed to smuggle a gun into the complex despite the fact that there is stringent security checking at all entry points to the building.

The injured were rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) for treatment where the lawyer and the tea boy were declared as stable while Sher’s condition was described by doctors to be “critical”.

Police subsequently registered a first information report (FIR) against Saeedullah and launched a probe into the attack.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2018.