Quetta official booked over assault on lawyers

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QUETTA: A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged at the City police station against Quetta Assistant Commissioner Sania Safi for manhandling lawyers over an issue of illegal parking.
According to details, a scuffle took place between officials of the district administration and members of the lawyers’ community over illegal parking at Meezan Chowk on Wednesday.

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Quetta Assistant Commissioner Sania Safi along with officials of the district administration was conducting a crackdown against illegal parking at Meezan Chowk. As soon as they lifted the car of a lawyer, a group of lawyers arrived at the scene and started using abusive language against AC Safi and her team.
Eyewitnesses said the group of lawyers threatened and abused AC Safi.
The issue turned into a brawl when lawyers attempted to attack the AC, upon which, her guards retaliated and hammered the lawyers, they added.

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An FIR was lodged against Safi despite the fact that the group of lawyers harassed and abused her first over a minor parking issue.
Eyewitnesses are calling the incident “lawyers’ bullying”.
Lamenting over the misbehaviour of lawyers and harassing a woman government officer, Quetta Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Tahir Zafar Abbasi said, “We never expected such treatment of a woman in a Baloch and Pashtoon tribal society.
“The AC was performing her job sincerely by taking action against illegal parking in Quetta which has been causing severe traffic jams, but she was abused and harassed by lawyers.”
The Pakistan Bar Council, Balochistan Bar Association, High Court Bar Association and Quetta Bar Association announced boycott of court proceedings against the incident and demanded suspension of AC Sania Safi.

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An FIR was lodged against AC Quetta and her guards at City police station for attacking a group of lawyers, while Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Saleem Khosa assured the protesting lawyers of impartial inquiry into the incident.
Reportedly on Thursday, the lawyers harassed a woman reporter of a news channel and tried to snatch her camera in a bid to stop her from covering the woes of applicants waiting outside the courts for justice due to the lawyers’ strike.
A video circulating on social media and WhatsApp showed lawyers threatening a woman journalist with dire consequences.

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The lawyers’ community did not appear before the courts and boycotted all proceedings in order to register their protest against their clash with district administration officials.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, the lawyers said, “We can’t compromise on our dignity and allow government officials to attack lawyers. We have given a week’s time to the government to suspend AC Safi and her guards otherwise we will launch a strict movement against the provincial government and district officials.”