Lawyers boycott court proceedings

KBA protests issuance of contempt notices to prosecutors

Lawyers boycotted court proceedings at the Karachi City Court on Saturday, protesting the issuance of contempt of court notices to Sindh prosecutor general Faiz Shah and two other public prosecutors.

The protest was held on the call of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA).

Speaking on the matter, KBA general secretary Amir Nawaz said, "The bar (KBA) is the guardian of the rights of its members. It will not let any judge treat any of its members badly."

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) had ordered the initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the Sindh prosecutor general and two public prosecutors after they failed to appear before the court despite being summoned in cases pertaining to extortion.

During a hearing at Karachi Central Jail, the court had stated that it had sought arguments from the prosecutor general and two public prosecutors on the inclusion of sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 in extortion cases.

Irked by the absence, the court had remarked that neither the prosecutor general appeared before the court, nor did any of the prosecutors gave their arguments.

It had further expressed annoyance over the prosecutors ignoring the notices issued to them. This falls under the contempt of court, it had stated, adding that the process to declare the prosecutor general an absconder be initiated through the ATC's registrar.

The court stated that the two public prosecutors would be indicted at the next hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2020.