MULTAN - The attempt to lock up the courts sparked a brawl between two groups of lawyers on Thursday as they pounced on each other with clubs, sticks and punches outside Lahore High Court Multan Bench. The call to lock up the courts was given by High Court Bar Association Multan (HCBAM) while the People's Labour Forum (PLF) had announced not to comply with the appeal. Police stood inactive during the entire episode and did not interfere. The HCBAM office-bearers took positions outside all courts at about 7:00 am and barred complainants and lawyers from entering the premises of LHC Multan Bench. However, a group of PLF led by Ilyas Khan, Tariq Saeed, Rana Javed Akhtar and Ashiq Baloch tried to enter the court on which scuffle started. The road leading to the LHC Multan Bench presented the view of a battlefield as dozens of lawyers seen fighting each other. "Initially, the PLF members beat the bar members. However, when the news of clash reached the bar, a contingent of over 150 lawyers rushed to the high court," said a witness and added that the arrival of bar members changed the scenario as they badly thrashed PLF members. Both the groups also carried out full-throated sloganeering. The bar office-bearers and members chanted anti-government slogans while the PLF activists raised slogans in favour of Asif Ali Zardari and government. Heavy contingents were deployed at the LHC Multan Bench and district courts. However, police did not intervene in the affairs of lawyers and stayed away. Meanwhile, talking to the journalists, the HCBAM president Mahmood Ashraf Khan and district bar president Najaf Chawan said that the lawyers were peaceful but Ilyas Khan group spread chaos and disruption. They pledged to continue locking up of courts on September 19. They warned that the lawyers would take strict action to foil all conspiracies. They also condemned Kot Addu administration and police for issuing threats to the lawyers on locking up courts. They said that the lawyers movement was totally peaceful and administration would be responsible for any unhappy incident. They said the lawyers would foil any malicious intentions of the administration in Kot Addu. Assad Hameed from Islamaba adds: The black coats on Thursday staged boycott of the courts to press for their demand regarding the restoration of the remaining sacked judges, including deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The agitating lawyers community also took to streets in twin cities and chanted anti-government and pro-independent judiciary slogans. In the federal capital, over two-dozen lawyers managed to reach in front of the Supreme Court building and staged a protest to show solidarity with the deposed judges despite heavy police deployment. When police tried to force the lawyers away from the Constitution Avenue, a bunch of black coats clashed with a heavy contingent of police. Carrying placards and banners with anti-government and pro-Iftikhar Chaudhry slogans, the lawyers said their movement was peaceful and democratic but police was using force unduly. As a result, many lawyers got injured after being beaten by police while six of them were taken into custody from Radio Pakistan Chowk. Secretary General Supreme Court Bar Chaudhry Amin Javed has condemned the police torture and arrest of the lawyers. He has also called for immediate release of the arrested colleagues adding that lawyers will render every sacrifice till the ultimate success of their movement. Earlier, police stopped Amin Javed from entering into the apex court building. Meanwhile, a sizeable number of lawyers appeared before the court in District Court, Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court in violation of the strike call. These lawyers who appeared before the courts said a certain group of lawyers leadership was politicizing the matter needlessly. They were appreciative of the government for restoring the majority of the judges after coming into power.