Lawyers to boycott courts over police raid

Cops barred from entering SHC Mirpurkhas bench; SSP suspends SHO

HYDERABAD:

Lawyers across Mirpurkhas division have announced a two-day boycott of courts after police arrested a senior lawyer in a raid on his office, with the bar alleging that narcotics were planted to implicate and defame him.

Sindh High Court Bar Association Mirpurkhas President Advocate Shoukat Ali Rahimo, and other office-bearers announced the boycott at a press conference on Thursday, saying lawyers would stay away from courts on August 28 and 29. The bar also announced that police officers would be barred from entering the Sindh High Court's Mirpurkhas bench.

Earlier in the day, Satellite Town police SHO Allan Khan Abbassi raided the office of Advocate Francis Lucas Khokhar and claimed to have recovered several sachets of narcotics.

Police said the raid was conducted after receiving credible information. Rahimo, however, rejected the police account, alleging that the SHO had planted the drug sachets to arrest and defame a senior lawyer. He further alleged that two other high court lawyers had previously accused Abbassi of harassment and improper conduct. Rahimo questioned the police's priorities, saying many non-gazetted officers appeared reluctant to act against the open sale of narcotics, mainpuri and gutka in Mirpurkhas but were somehow receiving tip-offs that led to senior lawyers being implicated in drug cases.

The bar president announced that Abbassi had been permanently barred from entering the SHC Mirpurkhas premises and demanded that Sindh Inspector General of Police suspend and transfer the SHO out of Mirpurkhas Range and order a transparent inquiry.