Legal fraternity: City lawyers boycott courts to protest killing

Lawyer Salahuddin Haider, his son were killed in Karachi on March 24.

LAHORE:

City lawyers boycotted courts on Monday on the call of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) in protest against the killing of a former president of the Malir Bar Association, Karachi.

The PbBC had given a call for a full day’s boycott while SCBA’s call had been for a half-day boycott. Most lawyers did not appear before the courts in routine matters, however, many did appear on urgent business.

Malir Bar former president Salahuddin Haider and his son were killed in an ambush in the Ghazi Town area of Malir on March 24.

Although no general house meeting of any of the city’s bars was held, representatives of lawyers issued condemnation messages against the killings and asked for early arrest of the killers.

SCBA acting president Imrana Parveen Baloch said the legal fraternity was united and would fight for its rights. She said the government had failed to provide protection to the legal fraternity and to the public.

In a joint statement, LHCBA representatives, including its president Shahram Sarwar, secretary Sardar Akbar Ali Dogar, vice president Hafizur Rehman Chaudhry and finance secretary Rafila Anjum Minhas condemned the incident. They asked the federal and provincial governments to arrest the killers within 24 hours. The statement said that the whole legal fraternity would stand with the lawyers of Malir and would ensure the arrest of the culprits.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2012.