Lawyers boycott: Courts wear a deserted look as city limps back to normalcy

Lawyers want citizens to reject those who failed them.

KARACHI: While the city crawled back to normalcy after a week of mourning following continuous terrorist attacks on political parties’ election offices, the courts still wore a deserted look on Monday after the lawyers went on a day-long strike against the target killings of their colleagues.

The lawyers seemingly took the step after being frustrated by repeated promises by the outgoing government to control the increasing number of lawyers being targeted.



“The people and the legal fraternity should reject those who have failed to protect their lives and property on May 11,” said Mustafa Lakhani, the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) president at a general body meeting at the bar office. “More than 250 lawyers have been gunned down over the last few years.”

He also expressed his dismay at the state’s failure to arrest the killers and compensate the grieving families.

Members of the Sindh High Court, Karachi Bar and Malir District Bar associations observed a complete boycott of the legal proceedings. They chose to hold general body meetings instead of pleading their cases to register their protest.



Lakhani also announced that SHCBA, the Sindh Bar Council and the Karachi Bar Association would jointly file a petition in the high court to help get monetary compensation for the victims’ families.

A large number of litigants faced difficulties and hundreds of under-trial prisoners brought from prisons had to be taken back without being produced in their respective courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.