Dress code: Security measures at PHC revised after Islamabad attack

No one other than lawyers will be allowed to dress in similar fashion ID tags will be mandatory for court officials.

PESHAWAR: In a slightly bizarre security measure, it has been decided anyone dressed similar to lawyers will not be allowed to enter the Peshawar High Court (PHC). Such a wardrobe malfunction will cost the individual an FIR against them.

This was decided on Tuesday by the PHC Bar Association (PHCBA) in the wake of the suicide attack on a district court in Islamabad on Monday. The attack claimed 11 lives, including an additional sessions judge.

Uniform measures

On Tuesday, PHCBA President Ishtiaq Ibrahim held a meeting with lawyers and judges to discuss the security provisions for law officers.

In the meeting, it was decided FIRs would be registered against anyone attempting to enter the court dressed like lawyers, be they assistants to lawyers or litigants.

It is said that during the summer, lawyers are supposed to be dressed in white trousers and a white shirt. Their winter dress code entails a three-piece suit.

It was also made mandatory for lawyers and their assistants to wear their official identity cards around their necks. These individuals will be expected to cooperate with security officials deployed at all gates of the PHC and permit them to conduct a physical search.

Independent investigation

While condemning the Islamabad incident, senior lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi said Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had claimed 26 intelligence agencies are operating in the country and yet none of them has identified who is behind the ongoing bloodshed.

Chief Justice (CJ) Mulk sought an independent enquiry into the incident so culprits can be brought to justice. “In the past, security forces and other state institutions were being targeted and now the judiciary is under attack,” said Justice Mulk.

The CJ added he had formed a committee headed by Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and instructed him to meet the K-P IGP and home secretary to revise and improve security arrangements at the PHC and other courts.

Justice Mulk along with senior lawyers and judges also offered prayers for the victims of the attack. Meanwhile, in protest against Monday’s attack, lawyers in the city did not participate in court proceedings on Tuesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2014.