Judicial battle continues

The Punjab Bar Council demands that all resignations tendered by lawyers be accepted regardless of withdrawals.

The Punjab Bar Council is demanding that the resignation of all lower court judges, who withdrew their resignations earlier today, should still be made to resign.

The demand was put forward by the executive chairman of the council, Rana Akram, while addressing a meeting of the council in Lahore today (Tuesday). The council announced that it has decided to boycott the courts till 8th October.

Earlier today, civil judges ended their strike and withdrew their resignations as Justice Zawwar Sheikh, who has been at the center of an ongoing clash between the bench and bar in Lahore, was sent on a four month leave on Tuesday.

Akram announced that lawyers had withdrawn their demand of seeking the resignation of chief justice of Lahore high court, Khawaja Muhammad Sharif.

He also demanded stern action from the government against those police officers who tortured lawyers during their protest rallies.

Courts in Punjab remain closed

Meanwhile, legal proceedings are still not occurring at their regular pace in Faisalabad and other parts of the Punjab province.

Lawyers in the industrial city of Faisalabad are now on their second day of strike following the seeming end of hostilities between judges and lawyers. Although judges are back in courts, lawyers are now on their second day of strike.

Although there were thirteen hundred lower court resignations sent to Lahore's chief justice, none of those came from Faisalabad. However, the lawyers say they are on strike to show solidarity with the lawyers from Lahore, protesting against what they called police brutality.

Meanwhile, lawyers in Multan and other parts of southern Punjab are also not appearing in court today.