Legal minds: Lawyers boycott courts in Khairpur

SUKKUR:

The legal community boycotted courts in Khairpur on Tuesday to protest the police raid at the district bar and attempt to arrest a lawyer.

Lawyers stayed away from the courts reportedly and protested against the police. They said it had violated the sanctity of the bar by mounting the raid and arresting a lawyer. They demanded that a case be registered against the police officers responsible.

Khairpur District Bar Association General Secretary Yasir Arafat told The Express Tribune that lawyer Jumman Samtio was implicated in a fake theft case and had come to the court on Monday to get bail before arrest. After the court granted him bail, the lawyer was sitting in the bar room, when a police party from A-Section police station tried to arrest him at the bar room. According to Arafat, the lawyers present there strongly resisted the arrest attempt and forced the police to leave. “We are going to lodge a First Information Report against the police officials responsible,” he added.

The Khairpur City ASP, Yar Mohammad Rind, categorically denied any raid at the bar room.

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