Islamabad/rawalpindi/wah cantt - Like other parts of the country, legal fraternity of the federal capital also observed complete strike on Tuesday and opted to stay away from the court proceedings to register their protest against killings of two lawyers in Daska.
Lawyers did not appear before lower as well as high courts to protest the Daska tragedy. As a result, hearing of cases could not be held and proceedings of all the cases were adjourned without any progress.
In this regard, Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) organised a condolence reference at the premises of IHC to mourn and condemn the brutal killings of two lawyers by the police.
Addressing the reference, Chief Justice IHC Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi termed the incident as terrorism and deplored the loss of two precious lives.
He also stated that government should enact strict laws to curb the incidents of terrorism, adding that at this time of sorrow and grief, judges also stood by the lawyers and announced to support the protesting counsels at every step.
Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamir Farooq, President IHCBA Raja Aleem Khan Abbassi Advocate, General Secretary Sardar Shaukat Hayat Advocate, members of executive committee IHCBA and a large number of lawyers attended the reference.
Similarly, IHCBA and Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) also held a joint general body meeting at Shohada Hall of District Courts in F-8 Markaz and Vice-Chairman Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) Shoaib Shaheen Advocate, President IHCBA Zahid Raja Advocate, President IBA and other senior lawyers addressed the gathering.
In the meeting, unanimous resolutions were passed demanding resignations of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, inspector general of Punjab police, provincial interior minister and hanging of the accused SHO who shot the lawyers dead.
The resolution also demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the incident.
Later, a protest rally was also taken out in which the lawyers chanted slogans against Punjab police and CM Punjab and demanded hanging of the police official involved in the barbaric incident. In this connection, a delegation of IHCBA cabinet will also visit Daska to express solidarity with the families of deceased lawyers.
The lawyers’ bodies have also announced to continue their protest and strike on May 27 and 28 and even, hearings in urgent cases will also not be held.
Meanwhile, the lawyers on Tuesday carried out a protest rally and staged a demonstration at Kutcheri Chowk Rawalpindi to condemn the killings of two colleagues, including the president of District Bar Association Daska, at the hands of police.
Earlier, the meetings of executive committee and general body of District Bar Association were held under the chair of DBA President GM Shah and Punjab Bar Council members.
The funeral prayer for the two lawyers murdered by police in Daska was held in absentia at Kutcheri Chowk. Black flags were hoisted on the buildings of district courts to mourn the deaths of the lawyers whereas three-day mourning was also announced by the lawyer bodies.
According to details, a large number of lawyers took out a protest rally from District Courts to Kutcheri Chowk to denounce the killing of lawyers in Daska.
Later, the lawyers held a protest demonstration at Kutcheri Chowk. While holding placards and banners, the participants of the rally were chanting slogans against police department and Punjab government.
Addressing the participants, the speakers including DBA President GM Shah and PBC Member Intezar Mehdi Shah vehemently denounced the killings. They said that the accused of Daska bloodshed including TMO should be arrested immediately and tried in anti-terrorism court. “The government and courts should award exemplary punishment to the killers,” they demanded. They demanded of the government to take concrete steps for lawyers’ safety.
On the other hand, DBA office-bearers announced three-day strike to denounce the killings. An office-bearer of DBA told The Nation that the lawyers would observe three-day strike and boycott all kinds of court proceedings. He added that no lawyer would appear before any court.
Meanwhile, the legal fraternity of Taxila, Wah Cantt and Hassanabdal boycotted court proceedings and held protest demonstrations on Tuesday against Daska incident. The rallies were carried out on the appeal of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), wherein demonstrators chanted slogans against the government and police. The legal fraternity demanded that the government should bring the killers to justice. Black flags were hoisted at bar rooms while condemnatory resolutions against police brutality were also passed by the bars.