As pressure rises, lawyers’ families go ‘underground’

Prosecutors, especially those involved in anti-terrorism cases, are facing immense pressure.


Rizwan Shehzad January 17, 2014
Lawyer Mirza Waqar Hussain Naqvi and his driver were attacked by four men on Jahangir Road. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS/EXPRESS

KARACHI:


“I have kept my family underground for the last three years,” claimed Abdul Maroof, the deputy district public prosecutor of the Anti-Terrorism Court III. “This is the kind of pressure we, the prosecutors, are facing for working on the frontline in this war against terrorism.”


The prosecutors, especially those involved in anti-terrorism cases, are facing immense pressure as the people they go to court against have political support. “I keep shifting houses because I took a strong stance against suspects belonging to banned outfits,” Maroof explained.

Maroof has assisted the court on behalf of the state in a number of famous cases, including the trials of Geo TV reporter Wali Babar Khan, Shahzeb Khan, Hamza Ahmed, Ajmal Pahari and Akram Lahori. A few months ago, Maroof narrowly escaped an attack when several assailants tried to break into his house.

“We are fighting for the state as well as the international community to eliminate terror,” he said. “We should be given protection.”

Maroof has also requested the home department for a light-weight, bulletproof vest but the application is still pending. In the meantime, he wears a heavy jacket that the police use during encounters.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2014.

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