Lawyers, admin resolve Kachehri Chowk dispute

Matter stands resolved after intervention by LHC judge

RAWALPINDI:

A fresh dispute between the District Bar Association, lawyers, and the administration over the decision to demolish additional chambers and the entire front of the executive block under the Kachehri Chowk overhead bridge and underpass project has been resolved.

The controversy erupted when the administration abruptly demolished the entire front of the executive block at around 2:30am, along with the fronts of banks and shops.

The action triggered another clash between lawyers and the administration. Lawyers rushed to the Kachehri at 2.30am, staged a sit-in, raised slogans, and launched a strong protest.

Later, a judge of the Lahore High Court intervened and facilitated a meeting between the law minister and the district bar, during which compensation for chambers was increased by Rs0.5 million.

Following this, the lawyers and the bar called off their protest.

Under the project, a total of 65 lawyers' chambers, 20 shops and kiosks, a petrol pump area, banks, and the entire front of chambers along the roadside executive block have been included. Overall, affected lawyers are being given Rs1 million in cash along with alternative chambers.

Space will also be allocated and costs paid for the historic Shaheed Qadeem Kachehri Mosque under the project. In total, Rs82 million will be paid to the lawyers and the bar.

District Bar President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan and lawyers whose chambers were affected strongly protested against what they termed the "secretive, late-night demolition" of chambers and the fronts of the executive block, banks, and shops.

They said the administration should have carried out the demolition in daylight, in a proper and consultative manner, adding that a midnight operation resembled a robbery and was tantamount to terrorism. Lawyers halted the work following the protest.

Subsequently, matters were settled after the intervention and notice taken by a senior Lahore High Court judge. Confirming the development, District Bar President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan said issues related to the chambers dispute had been resolved to some extent, but anger among the bar and affected lawyers persisted.