Lawyers to boycott court proceedings until March 21

Demand increased security, financial compensation for all victims.

PESHAWAR:

Lawyers in the province boycotted court proceedings and strongly condemned Monday’s attack on the Judicial Complex, which left four people dead and more than 45 injured.

Members of the K-P Bar Council, Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) and District Bar Association (DBA) held a meeting presided over by DBA President Maulana Shamsul Haq. A unanimous resolution was passed demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident. They further said financial assistance must be given to the injured and agreed to extend the boycott till March 21.

Speakers at the meeting said the attack highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies and demanded the authorities to provide foolproof security at courts.

Haq said guidelines for security measures must be followed and people must cooperate with law enforcement agencies in this respect. He thanked Punjab, Sindh and other lawyer bodies for supporting K-P lawyers by boycotting proceedings.

PHCBA former president Abdul Latif Afridi blamed intelligence and security agencies for their failure to prevent the attack and questioned how suicide bombers were able to penetrate such a sensitive location with explosives.



Afridi warned of bloody days ahead as the general elections near and advised lawyers to prepare themselves for worse times. This was the fourth attack on the courts and the last three inquiry reports have not been made public. The culprits behind previous attacks still remain at large, he added.

Later, compensation was announced for Abdul Majeed, a clerk who died in the attack.

Meanwhile, PHC CJ Dost Muhammad Khan said the attack on the judicial complex was an attack on the judiciary, which will be responded to strongly. “I am looking into the matter personally,” he said during a visit to the Lady Reading Hospital on Tuesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2013.