Protesting the protests: Legal fraternity boycotts courts across Sindh over Islamabad turmoil

The strike was observed on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council.

KARACHI/ HYDERABAD/ SUKKUR: The legal fraternity boycotted court proceedings across the province on Monday to protest the attacks on national institutions by the activists of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), the police brutality on the protesters and journalists.

In Karachi, legal proceedings came to a standstill on the first working day of the week as lawyers stayed away from the courts.

The Sindh Bar Council, on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), had appealed to district bar associations across the province to boycott court proceedings.

In response, the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) requested the chief justice to suspend legal work as part of their strike against Saturday's incident of alleged attack on Parliament House and the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. Subsequently, the CJ suspended legal proceedings.

The lawyers at the subordinate courts, including the special courts and tribunals, also boycotted legal proceedings.

They held general body meetings at the Karachi Bar Association and the Malir District Bar Association, criticising workers of the PTI and PAT for attacking national institutions.

The lawyers' leaders, including the SHCBA president ZK Jatoi and the KBA president Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, reiterated the community's resolve to resist any unconstitutional move and attack on democracy. They also urged the political leadership to resolve the issue through dialogue as warranted by the Constitution.

On the other hand, hundreds of cases were adjourned, causing hardship for the litigants as well as the under-trial prisoners. The inmates had to be taken back to the barracks due to non-appearance before the courts.

Strike in lower Sindh

The lawyers also did not appear in the Sindh High Court Hyderabad Circuit Bench and the sessions and civil courts in the districts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Bhambore and Nawabshah divisions.

Strike in Upper Sindh

In Upper Sindh, the lawyers stayed away from the courts and staged protest demonstrations to protest the brutal teargasing, firing and torture of peaceful marchers and media persons in Islamabad, terming it the worst form of state terrorism. They also criticised PTI chief Imran Khan for accusing the lawyers of siding with the government.

In Sukkur, the lawyers staged a protest rally from Sukkur district and sessions court, which terminated at Minara road. Speaking at the occasion, Sukkur District Bar Association president Shafqat Raheem expressed sorrow over the loss of lives of peaceful marchers in Islamabad, saying that the government had failed to control the situation.

Ghotki District Bar Association president Abdul Majeed Leghari condemned police action in Islamabad and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2014.