Lawyers boycott court proceedings

PESHAWAR: The lawyers in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stayed away from courts in protest against the recent killings of a senior civil judge and a lawyer in Nowshera a day earlier.

In Peshawar, the lawyers observed a complete boycott of court proceedings to protest the killings of Senior Civil Judge Hayat Khan and Khalid Khan Advocate in Nowshera. The protest was held on the call of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council following the tragic incident. Due to the strike, many litigants who had traveled long distances to attend hearings were forced to return without their cases being heard.

Prominent lawyers including Ameenur Rehman, Yasar Khattak, Ishaq Ali Qazi, Tariq Afghan, Daniyal Chamkani, Babar Khan Yousafzai, Ameen Khattak from Lakki Marwat and others condemned the ongoing attacks on legal professionals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They stated that the government has failed to ensure the safety of lawyers despite repeated demands for effective measures to prevent such targeted killings.

The protesting lawyers demanded swift arrest of those involved in the Nowshera incident and called on the government to take urgent steps to provide security to members of the legal fraternity.