HRCP demands security of lawyers, judges

LAHORE

The HRCP has voiced grave concern over a bomb blast in Quetta on Thursday that sought to target a judge of the Federal Shariat Court. It has demanded prompt action to ensure protection for lawyer and judges.

In a statement, the Commission said that it was difficult not to see the explosion in Quetta targeting Federal Shariat Court (FSC) Judge Zahoor Shahwani and his security detail as a continuation of tagetting the legal fraternity in Quetta. Thursday’s attack is a further reminder of the vulnerability of the legal community in Quetta, it added. Amid the prevailing fear of violence among lawyers and judges in the provincial capital of Balochistan, it is difficult for them to carry out their functions independently and impartially, or even to move around.

HRCP expressed hope that Monday’s devastating attack, the single most deadly assault ever on lawyers in Pakistan, has drawn the required attention not only to the prevailing law and order in Quetta but also to the need to ensure security for members of the bar and the bench, which is vital for the functioning of an independent legal profession and for the rule of law itself. The attack against Justice Shahwani is particularly alarming amid an apparently heightened state of security.