Security issues: Lawyers and judges strike to protest attack

LAHORE:

Lawyers and judges went on strike on the Lahore Bar Association’s (LBA) call on Monday in protest against a handcuffed prisoner’s attack on a judicial magistrate at the district courts.

Lawyers did not appear before the courts while judges avoided sitting in courtrooms in protest against the attack on judicial magistrate Kaleem Aslam Awan, though court staffers continued scheduling hearings.

Three handcuffed accused named Amir Riaz, Waqas and Azam attacked Awan, who rushed into a bathroom to save himself. Azam had a razor blade in his hands to attack the magistrate.

LBA president Shehzad Hassan Shaikh condemned the incident and termed it negligence on the part of the police officials of the district court. He said that a sharp edged weapon in the hands of a handcuffed prisoner had raised question regarding the abilities of the police officers deployed at the court rooms.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2011.