By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Lawyers’ associations called for a nationwide strike on Thursday, shutting down all courts, including the Supreme Court, high courts, and subordinate judiciary, to protest against “police brutality” towards lawyers in Lahore.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said on Wednesday that the strike call was issued to show solidarity with the legal fraternity after what they described as disturbing events of Punjab police brutality against lawyers who were peacefully protesting the “unlawful divisions” of the civil courts in Lahore.
Shahzad Shaukat, president of the SCBA, and other senior lawyers met with the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Qazi Faez Isa, and urged the CJP to take immediate cognizance of the matter by taking suo motu notice for an amicable resolution of the issue.
However, the Chief Justice declined to intervene, stating that the Supreme Court should not interfere in the affairs of the high courts.
Lawyers stated they would observe a complete strike and would abstain from appearing in courts to demonstrate solidarity with the advocates of the Lahore Bar Association.
Additionally, they will convene protest meetings, marches, and rallies in their respective bar rooms to express their dissent on this matter.
Television broadcasts showed police firing tear gas, baton-charging, and detaining dozens of protesting lawyers on Wednesday as they tried to enter the building of a high court in Lahore.
Hundreds of lawyers had gathered outside the court building to protest the relocation of civil courts to Model Town. They are also demanding the dismissal of a terror case filed against fellow lawyers.
As the lawyers attempted to enter the Lahore High Court building, police baton-charged them and fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. Video footage widely broadcast on Pakistani news channels showed dozens of lawyers being arrested and piled into police vans.
A senior police officer stated that the protesters had thrown stones at the police and tried to engage them in a fight first, after which the police were forced to use tear gas, water cannons, and batons.
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