‘Avoiding clashes’: Police refuse to enforce ban on court parking

Ask LBA leaders to stand at gates if they want ban enforced.

LAHORE:

Police deployed at the Sessions court building decided on Tuesday not to stop lawyers from parking their cars and motorcycles on the court premises to “avoid clashes between lawyers and police officials,” The Express Tribune has learnt.

A police speaking official on condition of anonymity told The Tribune that police had decided, in a meeting, not to bar lawyers from parking vehicles on the court premises until LBA representatives agree to stand with them at the court gates to ensure that lawyers respect the ban.

The official said that some officials at Judge’s Gate had tried on Tuesday to stop lawyers from entering the court premises with their vehicles but the lawyers had disregarded them and insisted on parking at the court. He said that CCTV recordings of the incidents were available. A delegation of police officials was sent to meet additional district and session judge Naeem Ahmed, tasked with court security, to raise their concerns but the judge was on leave. The official said that they will not stop lawyer’s vehicles to avoid clashes between lawyers and police. They said that LBA representatives had not agreed to stand with police officials at the gates. Instead they had asked the judge to increase the number of police officials.

LBA representatives had met with Judge Naeem on Sunday to ban the vehicles of lawyers, police officials and litigants for parking in the court premises.

LBA on Tuesday displayed notices at two gates of the Sessions court stating that only the vehicles belong to judges and prison vans were allowed to enter the court premises. The notices were displayed around 9am after many lawyers had brought and parked their vehicles on the premises.

LBA general secretary Asad Abbas Zaidi said that he had visited the lawyers’ chambers on Tuesday to request that lawyers not park in the court premises.He said that LBA vice president Rana Javed Bashir was due to stand with police officials to stop lawyers from parking inside the court premises. Rana Javed Bashir said that he had not been told to stand with police officials at the gates.

Several lawyers told The Tribune that they would not accept the ban since the District and Sessions Court was not LBA’s property. They said that the LBA’s decision to impose the ban will trigger scuffles between lawyers and police officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2012.