Angry black coats: Lawyers group fails to disrupt US activists’ event

Delegation was invited to discuss drone attacks by Democratic Lawyers Association.

ISLAMABAD:

A group of lawyers invited them to discuss peace, while another group of black coats was waiting so that they could disrupt it.

A discussion over drone attacks was cut short after an American peace delegation’s speeches at the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) were disrupted by right-wing lawyers on Wednesday.

The delegation was invited by the Democratic Lawyers Association (DLA), but the lawyers of the Namoos-e-Risalat Forum (NRF) did not want them to come and did everything they could to make them feel unwelcome.

“Down with America”, “We hate you”, “We hate Americans”, chanted NRF members who entered the district bar room in the middle of the delegates’ speeches and tried to disrupt the programme.

The DLA had expected the disruption, the Americans had not. They carried on with the programme but thought it best to hastily wrap it up. NFR was established after the assassination of former governor Salmaan Taseer in support of his murderer, Mumtaz Qadri.

“We passed a resolution against the Americans and held several protests against them, how could we allow them to come to the court premises?’’ said NRF Chairman Rao Abdur Rahim.

The bar association had not invited the delegation and the lawyers should have hosted them outside court premises, he added. “Americans follow double standards; they kill innocent civilians through drone attacks while sending a peace delegation to Pakistan,” said Abdur Rahim.

On the other hand, DLA Chief Co-ordinator Nisar Shah said they had invited the delegation to the district court to have a discussion about the drone attacks with the lawyers.

It was embarrassing when a few right-wing lawyers tried to disrupt the event as the delegation was invited by us, Shah said. “What message are we conveying to the world through this kind of act?”

He added, “At least we should have the courage to listen to their point of view.’’

Shah alleged the NRF has hijacked the legal fraternity’s forum and is politicking in the guise of religion. He claimed that three days before the visit, he requested district bar association for permission to host the delegation, which they had denied at the eleventh hour.

The delegation was in Pakistan for two weeks and had marched towards South Waziristan with the PTI caravan.

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