Lawyers threaten to occupy Punjab Cooperative Society building

LAHORE
The representatives of Lahore Bar Association (LBA) Friday issued a warning statement to the bureaucracy saying that the LBA members would occupy the Punjab Cooperative Society's building, located adjacent to the LDA courts, if it was not handed over to Lahore High Court by October 8.
This statement was issued at a press conference by the LBA representatives headed by the LBA president Chaudhry Ishtiaq Advocate. The press conference held in a reaction against hurdles, which according to them, the bureaucracy was creating in their effort to gather scattered courts at one place.
LBA president Chaudhry Ishtiaq said the bar representatives and chief justice of the LHC Justice Manzoor A Malik had been making efforts to gather the scattered courts at one place.
He said that Punjab lawyers would fight for their right and occupy the building if its possession was not handed over to LHC by said date. He said that lawyers had been making efforts for last 15 years to house the scattered courts but this time they succeeded. He thanked the efforts of chief justice LHC Justice Manzoor A Malik, LHC registrar Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed and district & sessions judge Bahadar Ali Khan.
He said they wanted to get the cooperative's land which the Punjab government had hired on rent, on which LHC offered more than the rent being paid by the Punjab government. However, the government decided to hand them over the building possession by September 30.
He called bureaucracy ‘Babu’ and said it was creating hurdles in gathering scattered courts claiming neither the bureaucracy was able to run the government affairs nor was ready to support their effort in housing courts. He said that bureaucracy was not only depriving the litigants of their right but also lawyers of their rights.
He said that eight new special courts were being established in that building which included accountability court, drug court, a court being established under child protection, consumer court and others. He said that if the scattered courts were housed (established on one point) it would prove helpful in deciding the cases in time as it (scattered courts) was also one of the hurdles in delaying dispensation of justice.
He said that lawyers car parking issue had also been resolved, adding that around 400 lawyers sitting places (chambers) were also being established in phase II (where the new complex was established after demolishing old sessions court).
He demanded the government regarding the release of funds, adding that no funds had been released for nine months.