Glued shut: Lawyers lock down Model Town courts

LAHORE:

A group of lawyers on Wednesday shut down the Model Town courts by putting industrial glue in the locks to protest the demolition of the chambers of Advocate Naila Farheen Rana, the sister of Lahore Bar Association finance secretary Fazyla Farheen Rana.

Judicial work remained suspended for over three hours.

The protesting lawyers said that on Tuesday, Naseerabad police and an administration team had demolished Rana’s chambers located next to the room of Judicial Magistrate Zafar Iqbla Sial.

As 13 courts remained locked during the shut down, magistrates set up makeshift courts outdoors and prisoners were produced before them.

Later, when some of the court staff tried to remove the locks, protesting lawyers threatened them with “dire consequences.”

Later, LBA lawyers joined the boycott.

Some LBA representatives called a convention and demanded transfer of the Model Town assistant commissioner, Naseerabad station house officer and magistrate Sial.



Town authorities promised to look into issue and lawyers resumed work.

Court staffers were then allowed to break the locks.

LBA general secretary Kamran Bashir Mughal claimed that the demolition of the chamber by was illegal. He said the bar association would meet again to discuss its plans for further action.

Rana sisters were not available for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2013.