Making peace: Faisalabad bar calls off strike after RPO’s intervention

They had been on strike since Monday after district authorities demolished a marriage hall .

FAISALABAD:

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Muhammad Ehsan Taufail on Wednesday intervened in the marriage hall demolition dispute between the district coordination officer (DCO) and the Faisalabad Bar Association lawyers.

Lawyers had announced a protest strike on Monday after some portions of the marriage hall owned by a former bar secretary was demolished by district authorities.

Saddar Assistant Commissioner Mushtaq Ahmad Tiwana had demolished the building owned by Rana Ali Abbas Khan.

Taufail called representatives of both sides to his office on Wednesday.

The lawyers delegation was led by bar president Chaudhary Tanveer Rehman Randhawa, secretary Chaudhary Ejaz Ahmad Wahla, joint secretary Syed Zainul Abedeen and former bar secretaries Farrukh Gulzar Awan, Rana Ali Abbas Khan and Rai Saifur Rehman Bhatti.

The DCO appeared on behalf of the district authorities.

The RPO engaged the two parties and after negotiating for several hours, the lawyers agreed to end their strike.

A meeting chaired by bar president Chaudhary Tanveer Rehman Randhawa on Monday had decided to protest against DCO Noorul Amin Mengal.

Randhawa had said that when Tiwana went to demolish the building, he was told that the hall was constructed after fulfilling legal requirements. He said the plan of the building had also been approved by the town municipal authority. Randhawa said Tiwana’s authority was restricted to Saddar, not the city.

“Tiwana told me that he had been instructed to not come back without demolishing the building,” Randhawa had said.

Lawyers had boycotted courts and had protested in front of the offices of the Revenue Departments including Saddar assistant commissioner’s office, the City assistant commissioner’s office and the Registry Branch.

The lawyers had vowed to continue to protest till Mengal and Tiwana were transferred.

Following the lawyers’ protest, hundreds of employees of the city district government had staged a demonstration in support of the DCO and demanded action against lawyers who had locked revenue offices.

Meanwhile, a sessions court issued orders for registration of a case against nearly 150 persons, including DCO Noorul Amin Mengal, the Saddar AC and other government officials for illegal demolition of the building.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2014.