Daily Times

LAHORE: Police contingents were called in on Monday at the Lahore High Court (LHC) where a number of protesting lawyers turned violent after a full bench of LHC issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Sher Zaman Qureshi, president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association-Multan (LHCBA-Multan) in a contempt of court case.

The court also issued directives for the suspension of the licence of the LHCBA-Multan president, along with the licence issued to lawyer Syed Qaiser Abbas Kazmi.

As the bench comprising Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza announced the verdict, the lawyers became violent and raised slogans against the chief justice and in favour of their colleague.

Sher Zaman Qureshi, however, did not appear before the court.

The lawyers dislodged a gate installed for the safety of the Chief Justice Block but the Rangers personnel deployed there for the security of the block did not let them move forward.

The lawyers them continued their protest on The Mall, which was subsequently blocked for traffic after a clash broke out between the lawyers and police.

The anti-riot police personnel deployed to protect the LHC building fired water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse the lawyers. Lawyers also pelted stones at police personnel.

More than two dozens lawyers and police personnel were shifted to Mayo Hospital after they received minor injuries during the clash. Police stopped using tear gas and water cannons after the lawyers gave assurances that they would continue their protest peacefully.

LHCBA President Zulfiqar Chaudhry meanwhile announced that lawyers would observe a strike across Punjab today (Tuesday).

He warned that by acting against lawyers, the authorities were taking the situation to a point where “things would no longer be in their control”. He asked the bench to recall the verdict. In an incident that took place on July 24, Qureshi and another lawyer had allegedly misbehaved with Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan and obstructed judicial proceedings of his court in Multan bench and afterwards vandalised and ransacked the court premises and ripped off the name plate of the judge.

After the incident, the chief justice had withdrawn judges working at the Multan Bench and posted them to the Principal Seat, Lahore. Later in view of problems of the litigants the chief justice restored functioning of the Multan registry from July 27 and judges resumed their work.

The larger bench was constituted to proceed against the delinquent lawyers under the law of contempt and High Court Rules and Orders for suspension and/or removal of their practice of the LHC.

Published in Daily Times, August 22^nd 2017.