Battlefield Lower Mall

Lawyers chase policemen as far as the District Courts chowk, police retaliate by firing tear gas and firing in the air

LAHORE: A large number of lawyers banded outside the Aiwan-e-Adal following the announcement of a protest rally during the Lahore Bar Association’s general house meeting on Saturday morning.

The lawyers marched towards the Post Master General (PMG)’s office. On encountering police in front of the PMG office, they started shouting slogans and hurled bricks at them. The lawyers chased the policemen as far as the District Courts chowk from where the former gathered inside Nasser Bagh. There, the police teams retaliated by firing tear gas shells and firing in the air in a bid to disperse them. The police party advanced until the lawyers went inside the Awan-e-Adal building.

About a one-hour later, lawyers once again came out of the Aiwan-e-Adal. This time they were joined by a group of Punjab Bar Council members who had marched from their office at Turner Road. The lawyers once again charged towards the police. They got hold of two policemen, damaged their vehicle and thrashed them.

The police charged with batons injuring Advocate Mian Hafeez, Muhammad Ahsan Sahar, the former LBA secretary, Advocate Latif Sahra and Advocate Khurram Chand. LBA president, Sajid Bashir, Secretary Muhammad Qasim Buttar and other officials urged the lawyers to return to Aiwan-e-Adal building, but were mostly ignored.

A group of lawyers beat up a reporter and a camera man. They snatched the camera and destroyed the tape.

This was followed by a protest demonstration by reporters and photographers outside the PMG office.

The LBA president, Sajid Bashir apologised to the media persons and told them that he would suspend the membership of the lawyers who had beaten up the reporter and the cameraman.

Life remains paralysed at Lower Mall

Life remained paralysed at the portion of the Lower Mall surrounding Awan-e-Adal on Saturday as the lawyers and police clashed for the third day.

Traffic including public transport was not allowed on the road for up to three to four hours. A commuter who had to take refuge inside the civil secretariat told The Express Tribune that he used to board a bus from opposite the secretariat building but could not go out owing to the tear gas smell and frequent rounds of gunfire.

The civil secretariat employees who had been called to attend an emergency meeting remained locked inside the building for several hours. “We were called to attend the meeting pertaining to Local Governments Department but we remained confined inside the office for four hours,” said Malik Tahir, an employee of the Local Government department.

Several employees of the offices located at Lower Mall could not reach work at time owing to the clashes.

Malik Saad, an employee at a private company office located beside the PMG, said he was on way to his office when the lawyers and policemen clashed. “On hearing the gunshots, I laid down on the road,” he said, “I had witnessed such a situation before.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2010.