Lawyers staged a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road on Tuesday after police registered a case against several advocates for allegedly assaulting YouTuber Rajab Butt at the Karachi City Courts a day earlier. The protest followed tensions between members of the legal fraternity and police over the registration of FIRs.
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According to police and witnesses, the incident occurred on Monday when Mr Butt arrived at the City Courts to seek bail in a case related to allegedly hurting religious sentiments. During the hearing proceedings, he was allegedly manhandled by a group of lawyers inside the court premises, leaving him injured.
Mr Butt’s counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq, lodged an FIR at the City Courts police station against Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi, Advocate Abdul Fatah and 15 to 20 unidentified lawyers. The case was registered under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including rioting, criminal intimidation, causing injury and theft.
In the FIR, Mr Ashfaq alleged that his client was attacked near the West building of the City Courts, while he and other lawyers from his office were also assaulted. He further claimed that a bag containing Rs300,000 was snatched during the incident. Although the bag was later returned, the cash was allegedly missing.
Following the registration of the case, a large number of lawyers stormed the City Courts police station, demanding that a counter FIR be registered against the YouTuber. Led by Karachi Bar Association President Aamir Nawaz, the protesters accused the police of bias and staged a sit-in outside the courts.
The lawyers maintained that while police swiftly registered a case against their colleagues, they refused to entertain their complaint against Mr Butt. The protest caused traffic disruption on M.A. Jinnah Road for several hours.
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DIG-South Syed Asad Raza said no arrests had been made so far. He added that the sit-in ended after police officials held negotiations with the protesting lawyers and assured them that their concerns would be addressed according to law.