Lawyers observe strike against attack on judicial officers

Bar reps express reservations about security measures for community

PESHAWAR: The lawyer community on Thursday observed a province-wide strike against the suicide attack on judicial officers in Hayatabad the day earlier.

A driver was killed and four judges, including three women, were wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his motorbike into an official coach in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar Wednesday.

The judicial officers — Asif Jadoon, Rabia Abbasi, Tehrima Sabahat and Ameena Haider — had sustained injuries in the attack. They were returning home after courts work at the Peshawar Judicial Complex when targetted.

Condemning the suicide attack on judicial officers van, the lawyer community stayed away from courts across the province.  The strike was observed across the province on the call of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council.

The Peshawar High Court and sub-ordinate courts adjourned the cases due to lawyers boycott. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council Vice-Chairman Muhammad Sareer Khan condemned the attack on the judicial officers. “We have strong reservations over the safety and security of judges and lawyers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.

The lawyer body representative deplored that there was no police cover for a van carrying judicial officers after judicial work. On the other hand, he said, every police officer and official was travelling in full security and escort.

He said the bar had forwarded resolutions and letters to the relevant officials seeking provision of security to lawyers, judges and courts, but no proper measures were taken in this regard. PHCBA President Muzammil Khan and General Secretary Yousaf Ali sought protection and security for the lawyers.

The former PHC chief justice and presently a judge of Supreme Court, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan also condemned the suicide attack on judicial officers.In his condolence message addressed to the family members of martyred drive, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan urged the provincial government to take tangible steps for curbing the terror acts.

However, he said that judges’ duty is to deliver justice without fear and favour. He said that such attacks on judicial officers cannot halt the judicial work. PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi had also inquired after the injured judicial officers by visiting the Hayatabad Medical Complex Thursday night.