On the call of the Karachi Bar Association, lawyers observed a strike at the City Courts on Wednesday, expressing their reservations over the holding of the Sindh Bar Council’s election.
Speaking to the general body meeting, KBA President Munir Ahmed Malik said the election should be held at the district level and at the City Courts, otherwise its credibility would fall in doubt.
Malik said excluding the City Courts from the holding of the SBC election was tantamount to hatching a conspiracy to “dividing lawyers into the upper and lower classes” which is unacceptable. He said the lawyers would fight for their rights with tooth and nail. “It is being said that the barristers cannot come to the City Courts which implies that the 10,000 lawyers who work at the lower judiciary are lesser than others,” he said.
KBA general secretary GM Korai said they had raised their reservation several times but to no avail. He said the SBC election must be held at the City Courts otherwise they would not let it happen. Korai added that the election was prone to be rigged by removing the City Courts from the way. He said the lawyers would fight against “this plot to create divide” among them and would not let judiciary run if their rights were not given.
Naqeeb murder case
An anti-terrorism court adjourned the hearing of the Naqeebullah murder case till November 26 after the lawyers did not appear owing to the strike.
Twenty-three policemen, including former SSP Malir Rao Anwar, have been charged with the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud, whose real name was Naseemullah Mehsud, who along with three others, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, was killed in a fake encounter on the outskirts of the city on January 13, 2018.
Anwar, Qamar Ahmed, Muhammad Yaseen, Supurd Hussain and Khizar Hayat are on bail, while 13 accused – namely Allah Yar Kaka, Muhammad Iqbal, Arshad Ali, Ghulam Nazuk, Abdul Ali, Shafiq Ahmed, Shakeel, Muhammad Anar, Khair Muhammad, Faisal Mehmood, Ali Akbar, Raees Abbas Zaidi and Syed Imran Kazmi – are in judicial custody in jail. Moreover, seven accused – namely Amanullah Marwat, Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib, Gada Hussain, Mohsin Abbas, Sadaqat Hussain Shah, Rana Shamim and Riaz – have been declared proclaimed offenders and warrants have been out for their arrests. The investigation did not find any evidence of Naqeeb’s involvement in terrorist activity.