Lawyers besiege DC office against non-payment of allowances

Rawalpindi: The district court prosecution branch, Rawalpindi staff Tuesday besieged deputy commissioner (DC) office against non-payment of judicial allowance and prosecution allowance.

The protesters carrying banners and placards warning if their demands are not accepted they will block Benazir Bhutto Road from today (Wednesday). A heavy contingent of police was present all around deputy commissioner (DC) office to avoid law and order situation.

The protesters appeared from district court, Rawalpindi in shape of a rally and marched towards Kutcherry Chowk, commissioner office and judicial complex. Finally, they staged their protest in front of deputy commissioner office.

District Prosecution Welfare Association (DPWA) President Raja Tanvir Akhtar and General Secretary Khyber Mehmood leading the rally in their speech said that they will not work till acceptance of their demands. “If Punjab government does not accept our demands regarding payment of judicial allowance, prosecution allowance and improving service structure, they will and block Benazir Bhutto Road and later stage sit-in outside Parliament House,” Raja Tanvir Akhtar warned.

They said that Prosecutor General, Punjab Ehtasham Qadar was not taking interest in resolving this issue. It is worth mentioning here that clients are facing difficulties due to non presentation of challans in courts. The prosecution branch is on pen down strike for 13 days as challans of hundreds of cases not presented in courts. Court work was strongly affected due to strike of prosecution branch in Rawalpindi as challans of all police stations in district were not presenting.

The civil, judicial and session courts have started challans directly from police stations in bail applications. District Public Prosecutor (DPP), Rawalpindi Khawaja Sohail Iqbal told ‘The News’ that issue should be resolved at any cost to avoid poor clients. Higher authorities should pay judicial allowance, prosecution allowance and service structure for prosecution staff otherwise it will create more and more difficulties, he said.