islamabad/rawalpindi - shahid rao andisrar ahmed -

The legal fraternity of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Friday vehemently denounced the brutal killing of FIA Prosecutor Chaudhary Zulfiqar Ali terming it as an act of terrorism.
They were of the view that it was an attempt to silence the voice of the people who are engaged in digging out the truth. Therefore, they demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and exemplary punishment to them. The community immediately announced strike and boycott of court proceedings in higher as well as lower courts to lodge their protest.
Talking to The Nation, President Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Haroon Rasheed, said that the whole lawyer community was shocked after hearing the death of FIA prosecutor.
He made it clear that they would not leave any stone unturned for the arrest of killers of Ch Zulfiqar. He also announced to continue their protest against the killing of their fellow lawyer and said that lawyers would observe strike and would not appear before the court on Saturday (today). Former president IHCBA Chaudhary Ashraf Gujjar advocate rejected any possibility of personal enmity in the killing of Zulfiqar and apprehended that the high profile cases with which he was dealing might have caused this attack. Expressing his grief and sorrow, he said that some hidden mighty and powerful elements could be involved in this target killing. Another prominent lawyer Farooq Iqbal Khan who is also a counsel in a case related to a phone number of Benazir Bhutto, said that it is clearly an act of terrorism and they condemned it. He remarked that in his opinion, this whole act had been done by the forces involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. “This is a message given by those forces to the people who are working to find out the truth and involved in the investigations and trial of Benazir Bhutto,” he added.
He said that this murder case would be a challenge for the police to investigate and trace out the culprits involved in this brutal act. “Otherwise, the concept of justice will be denies,” added Farooq. Chairman Young Lawyers Forum Abrar Raza termed it as dreadful incident. He was of the view that the investigators should consider this point while investigating this case that why he was murdered at the point where Benazir Bhutto murder case had been reached an important juncture.
Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi District Bar Association has announced to boycott court proceedings in protest.
Talking to The Nation, President High Court Bar Association Taufeeq Asif said that lawyers are being targeted under a well-hatched conspiracy. He condemned Ali’s murder and demanded of the government to arrest the killers as soon as possible.
Secretary District Bar Association, Malik Zaheer Arshad urged Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani to take notice of the incident and take personal interest in it.
“I demand of COAS to take notice of the incident and find whether there is a third force which wanted to pet the two institutions against each others by targeting the lawyers,” he said.
Former president LHC Sheikh Ahsanuddin while talking to this scribe, said that attacks on lawyers have been increased since 28 March 2013. “Senior lawyers have been kidnapped, killed and beaten.
“In the BB murder case, Musharraf party leaders have hired professional people with an intention to beat the lawyers and humiliate them,” he said. He condemned the murder of Chaudhry Zulfiqar and appealed to the Chief Justice Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the incident. He also demanded the arrest of killers of Ali and other lawyers killed during last few months.