Mehar promises thorough probe as legal fraternity boycotts courts

Karachi
The legal fraternity took a united stand with its boycott of court proceedings on Monday against the murder of Advocate Syed Amir Hyder Shah who was shot dead near Hassan Square flyover two days ago.
Lawyers of the city courts and Sindh High Court (SHC) observed strike and stayed away from ongoing trials to show their angst over the murder of a colleague.
The SHC bar association at its general body meeting condemned the murder where the members demanded the arrest of the culprits.
The lawyers requested the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Justice Faisal Arab, to direct all the law-enforcement agencies, including the Inter Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and Sindh Rangers, to investigate the killing and close the case within a week.
Three unidentified men had gunned the lawyer down when he had just crossed the Hassan Square Flyover while on his way home on Friday evening.
The association demanded that fool proof security be provided to all lawyers by security agencies to give the legal fraternity freedom to pursue their profession without fearing for their lives. The SHC bar association also demanded that the Sindh government pay compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased lawyer and set up trust fund for the family.
Similarly, lawyers of the city courts under the aegis of Karachi Bar Association (KBA) and Sindh Bar Association (SBA) also observed strike and boycotted court proceedings, on the call of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) to protest the murder of Advocate Amir Hyder Shah, who was a former joint KBA secretary.
The hearings of many high-profile cases also had to be put off since the lawyers did not show up while ongoing trials in the anti-terrorism courts were also affected. The associations demanded from the rangers to provide security to lawyers whose lives had been threatened.
According to SSP East Jawed Jiskani, the deceased Advocate had been pursuing several cases pertaining to land grabbing while some were of political nature in anti-terrorism courts. He had arrived in Karachi from Khairpur and his elder brother was an office bearer of the Khairpur Bar Association.
Police chief meets KBA
The city police chief Mushtaq Mehar met with members of the Karachi Bar Association at the Karachi Police Office.
At the beginning of the meeting, a prayer was offered for the deceased lawyer by the participants.
The KBA delegation, led by its president Naeem Qureshi, discussed with Mehar the security concerns of lawyers and the progress of murder investigation.
Mehar assured the lawyers of his full support in catching the killers and offered to depute policewomen for frisking female litigants who visited the city courts.
A six-member KBA delegation had also called on the Sindh Rangers Director-General Major General Bilal Akbar at paramilitary force’s headquarters on Saturday to discuss their security concerns and the progress of murder investigation.
On the occasion, DG Rangers assured the lawyers of his full support and assured them that the killers would be brought to justice.
He said in order to handle the threats being received by bar members, a special task force headed by a lieutenant colonel would be established.