KP lawyers stay away from courts

PESHAWAR: Amid complete boycott of courts across the province, the legal fraternity of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday urged the chief justice of Lahore High Court (LHC) to withdraw the non-bailable arrest warrant against the lawyers (contemnors).

“The house (PHC Bar Association) is requesting the lawyers to maintain their dignity and avoid any further agitation and rioting. The house urge the judiciary to calm down and not to follow the bureaucratic egoistic approach and thus take steps for the peaceful settlement of the issue,” the KP lawyers,” leaders urged both the lawyers and judiciary through a resolution passed in a joint general body meeting of Peshawar High Court Bar Association and Peshawar Bar Association at PHC Bar Room.

Senior lawyers of the KP bar including PHCBA vice president Yousaf Riaz Khalil, general secretary Rahmanullah Khan, Abdul Latif Afridi, Barrister Zahoorul Haq, Mohim Afridi, Muazzam Butt, Hashim Raza, Muhammad Zahoor Qureshi, Mian Fazle Wahab and Zahid Jamal addressed the protest meeting.

The Peshawar High Court Bar Association and Peshawar Bar Association through a joint resolution also called upon senior members of the Punjab Bar to intervene, negotiate and settle the dispute.

On the other hand, the legal fraternity of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observed complete boycott of courts across the province to protest the alleged brutality of Punjab Police against the lawyers.

The lawyer community observed the strike on the call of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa KP Bar Council.

Like other parts of the province, the lawyers in the provincial capital also observed complete boycott of courts.

The lawyers’ leaders condemned what they believed was the violent act of the Punjab Police and Rangers against the lawyers.

They said that the co-existence of bench and bar is very essential for the prevailing of legal and judicial system.

“As two wheels of the system one cannot maintain its existence without the other, hence it is necessary for both to mutually respect each

other and cooperate for running the judicial system of the country,” the lawyers’ leaders said.

“We condemn the Punjab Police brutalities against the lawyers at Lahore High Court. In protest the lawyers

observed complete boycott of courts in KP,” the KP Bar Council, vice-chairman, Muhammad Sareer Khan said.

The incident took place when the police fired tear gas and water cannons on protesting lawyers who had gathered at the Lahore High Court (LHC), where contempt of court proceedings were underway against Sher Zaman Qureshi, the president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association’s Multan chapter.

A large number of lawyers resorted to violence after the court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Qureshi and passed directions for the suspension of his licence for non-compliance with the court order.