Police ‘overreaction’: Courts suspended as lawyers protest
To express solidarity with their Quetta colleagues, the lawyers boycotted the courts on Friday.
“We condemn the overreaction of the police and lawyers boycotted proceedings in order to express solidarity with the Quetta Bar Association,” said the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) president, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed. PHOTO: ONLINE/FILE
KARACHI:
Lawyers in the lower courts in Karachi boycotted proceedings on Friday to protest the ‘overreaction of police’ against the lawyers of the Quetta Bar Association.
The police have registered cases against almost 150 lawyers for beating up police personnel in Quetta. It was reported that the problem started when a lawyer was asked to walk through a metal detector before entering the court’s premises. In light of this perceived contempt, a legion of lawyers allegedly beat up two policemen that were deputed near the court and held a procession on Jinnah Road. In the procession, the lawyers allegedly dragged four more officials out of their vehicle and assaulted them.
To express solidarity with their Quetta colleagues, the lawyers boycotted the courts on Friday.
Previous ‘holidays’
On April 3, the ‘legal eagles’ mourned the death of a retired judge of the higher judiciary, while a provincial holiday was announced to mark the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on April 4. The legal fraternity then boycotted court proceedings for four consecutive days, from April 9 to April 12, in connection with the killings of their colleagues and to mark the anniversary of the Tahir Plaza tragedy.
“We condemn the overreaction of the police and lawyers boycotted proceedings in order to express solidarity with the Quetta Bar Association,” said the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) president, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed.
The KBA president added that registering cases against almost all the members of the Quetta bar association is not justified. “It was a completely out of proportion reaction by the police,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2014.
Lawyers in the lower courts in Karachi boycotted proceedings on Friday to protest the ‘overreaction of police’ against the lawyers of the Quetta Bar Association.
The police have registered cases against almost 150 lawyers for beating up police personnel in Quetta. It was reported that the problem started when a lawyer was asked to walk through a metal detector before entering the court’s premises. In light of this perceived contempt, a legion of lawyers allegedly beat up two policemen that were deputed near the court and held a procession on Jinnah Road. In the procession, the lawyers allegedly dragged four more officials out of their vehicle and assaulted them.
To express solidarity with their Quetta colleagues, the lawyers boycotted the courts on Friday.
Previous ‘holidays’
On April 3, the ‘legal eagles’ mourned the death of a retired judge of the higher judiciary, while a provincial holiday was announced to mark the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on April 4. The legal fraternity then boycotted court proceedings for four consecutive days, from April 9 to April 12, in connection with the killings of their colleagues and to mark the anniversary of the Tahir Plaza tragedy.
“We condemn the overreaction of the police and lawyers boycotted proceedings in order to express solidarity with the Quetta Bar Association,” said the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) president, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed.
The KBA president added that registering cases against almost all the members of the Quetta bar association is not justified. “It was a completely out of proportion reaction by the police,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2014.