Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Lawyers across the country, on the call of legal bodies, boycotted courts on Friday to protest against the registration of cases against those lawyers who were arrested for their involvement in the rampage at Lahore’s Punjab Institute of Cardiology three days ago.
The Pakistan Medical Association also announced it will observe a ‘Black Day’ against the attack on a Lahore cardiac hospital on Monday.
Talking to the TV channel, Punjab Institute of Cardiology’s Executive Director, Dr Saqib Shafi, said the hospital had suffered losses to the tune of Rs70 million as a result of the lawyers’ assault on Wednesday, “but we are trying to resume operations in the emergency department from today.”
The legal bodies also demanded “immediate release” of those arrested. A notification issued by the PBC said the protest was “against partial and biased conduct of the local police and the administration of Lahore against the lawyers as well as action taken by the Islamabad High Court against the Secretary-General, Islamabad High Court Bar Association.”
A committee, which includes representatives from the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar and Lahore High Court Bar, was formed on emergency basis to devise the next course of action, post the escalating rift with doctors in Lahore.
Separately, the Pakistan Bar Council, a body of elected lawyers, has also directed legal practitioners to observe a boycott.
The lawyers’ joint action committee formed on the matter said that lawyers will not appear in courts today. They claimed that the arrested lawyers were tortured by police and demanded their immediate release. The Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and various local bar associations have also given strike calls.
The Shadman, Lahore, police had lodged two FIRs against 200-250 lawyers which included Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. In a statement, PBC vice chairman Amjad Shah regretted that the local administration had arrested a large number of advocates, even those who were not present at the site of the incident, in addition to registering FIRs against them.
In a statement, the SCBAP said the bar association “through a unanimous resolution strongly rejects and condemns the unlawful allegations posed on [the] legal fraternity” in the wake of the PIC incident.
“SCBAP downrightly discards the allegations regarding direct involvement of lawyers community attacking the said hospital rather the lawyers’ community gathered outside the PIC building to record peaceful protest against the unwarranted speech from the goons that have been hiding in the ranks of medical community that was the root cause of the reaction which provoked the whole legal fraternity,” the statement read. The SCBAP expressed “grave concern” over the “unlawful arrests” of lawyers and “torture […] during their detention and inhumane behaviour with them by the Punjab police”. They said the strike was also in solidarity with Umair Baloch The high court on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to IHC Bar Association Secretary Muhammad Umair Baloch for “professional misconduct and contempt”.
