You could criticize them for disrupting the schedule for a House Advisory Committee session and you could take offence at their displayed ‘misbehavior’ (a case of subjective meaning, really) in the capital’s most sensitive area but the fact of the matter is simple: The lawyers indeed have a point when they protest the police mishandling of the F-8 court attack. Although a thorough report from the upper house of the parliament had been demanded in the first week of this month, we have yet to see a cohesive conclusion explaining the factors that enabled terrorists to attack the district court complex.
No names have been given to highlight who had been guilty of the security lapse that led to the vicious assaults. It was also brought to our attention via mainstream media outlets that the gunman of the slain judge Malik Rafaqat Awan had been harassed” and “pressured” by the police to give a “favorable” statement. One need not wonder why. Incompetency and lack of efficacious strategy provides loopholes for extremists to slither their way into. Now that lawyers have intensified their demonstrations, one cannot help but think that the rage is not misplaced at all but justified. Surely, the Supreme Court took a suo motu notice of the incident and ordered the installation of high-resolution closed-circuit television cameras in the complex but we all know too well that a slew of suo motu notices and surveillance equipment will not save our country from the ideological predicament it faces today.
However, these objections and demands are nothing nascent: Lawyers working in the F-8 complex have consistently raised their voice on the inappropriate placement of the courts and how it endangers the lives of lawyers and judges on a daily basis. It was in 2012 when talks were held on devising solutions for the problems in F-8 Markaz and kutchery area with traders and other stakeholders. Nothing really came out of those meetings. After the recent militant attacks, the issue is back on the table with even more fury. The good news in this bleak development is that the lawyers’ demands have been heard – for most part. The judicial complex will be moved from its current dingy location while funds will be allocated in the next budget. The next step, hopefully? A law enforcing body that does not take human life for granted and does what it needs to: Ensure the safety of citizens.