DC apologises to lawyers amid standoff

ABBOTTABAD:

Abbottabad Deputy Commissioner Sarmad Saleem on Wednesday visited the District Bar Room and offered an unconditional apology to the legal fraternity over the recent incident that triggered a prolonged standoff between the district administration and lawyers.

The DC met members of the Bar and expressed regret over the situation that developed during the incident, particularly the manner in which the matter was handled.

He apologised to the lawyers and expressed regret over the circumstances that led to the confrontation.

District and Sessions Judge Abbottabad Abid Sarwar, members of the district judiciary, President District Bar Association Imran Younis, office-bearers of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association Abbottabad Bench, members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, presidents and office-bearers of the Haripur and Mansehra bars, besides a large number of senior and junior lawyers, attended the meeting.

The DC's visit came after several days of lawyers' strike and boycott of court proceedings in Abbottabad and other parts of Hazara Division over the confrontation involving lawyers during the demolition of a water filtration plant at the district courts.