Lawyers observe strike

PESHAWAR: The lawyer community observed strike across the province on Monday and set one week deadline for the government to accept their demands.
The demands included establishment of judicial complex in Mardan on the old courts premises as per the wishes of lawyers and addressing the lawyers’ car parking problem in Peshawar.
A joint meeting of lawyers associations across the province was held at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Bar Room. PHC Bar Association president presided the meeting.
PHCBA office-bearers, vice-chairman of the KP Bar Association and members, presidents and general secretaries of Mardan Bar Association, Katlang Tehsil Bar Association, Takht Bhai Bar, Swabi Bar and senior lawyers attended the meeting.
“We ask the provincial government to accept the lawyers demands, including establishment of Judicial Complex in Mardan at the old courts premises, address the issue of the car parking of lawyers in Peshawar, issuance of grants announced by the chief minister for the bar associations and Shaheed Package for lawyers martyred in a suicide blast in Mardan courts,” read the resolution jointly passed the lawyer bodies of the province.
A committee comprising presidents and general secretaries of the bar associations, vice-chairman of KP Bar Council and its members and senior lawyers, including Abdul Latif Afridi, Ghulam Nabi and others was formed to meet the PHC chief justice for resolving the issue of establishment of judicial complex in Mardan district.
The representatives of the legal fraternity decided to first raise the issue of establishment of judicial complex to play his role as the provincial government had agreed to establish the complex as per the wishes of the lawyers on the plot of land of Mardan’s prison adjacent to the district courts in the city or else they would go for complete strike from courts across the province for an indefinite time.
PHCBA General Secretary Rehmanullah Khan said lawyers convention would be called if these issues were not resolved within a week.
Mardan Bar Association President, Islam Gul, former PHCBA General Secretary Muhammad Ayaz, senior lawyer, Abdul Latif Afridi, PHCBA president Arbab Usman, Vice-chairman of KP Bar Council Muhammad Sareer Khan, Peshawar Bar Association President Fazal Wahid and Naveed Akhtar addressed the meeting.
Later, the committee of lawyers’ leaders met the PHC chief justice to discuss the issues with him and seek his approval for establishment of the judicial complex in Mardan as per the wishes of the Mardan lawyers.
On the call of the KP Bar Council, lawyers observed complete strike at courts on the issue of establishment of judicial complex in Mardan.
The government wants to establish a family park on the plot of land adjacent to the district courts after shifting the prison to the newly constructed fortified structure.
The lawyers want the establishment of the judicial complex on the vacant plot of land as promised by the provincial government.