Daily Times

FAISLABAD: A large number of lawyers in Faisalabad resorted to violence in protest on Monday after more than 30 of their colleagues were booked in a case under terrorism charges.

The case was registered on Sunday against the lawyers for allegedly manhandling Dijkot police station in-charge and his staff on a district court’s premises when they reached there to produce an accused before a judge. The accused was said to be a brother of one of the lawyers.

On Monday, some lawyers’ representatives asked the police to withdraw the case but police officials refused to oblige them. The refusal enraged the lawyers, who held a demonstration at committee chowk and got a nearby market closed.

The protesting lawyers then attacked the CPO office and injured three policemen deployed outside the office. The protest still continues and the situation in the area is tense.

According to Faisalabad Police spokesman Amir Waheed, a suspect Malik Shahid, brother of lawyer Malik Arshad, was arrested by police on April 25 in a case involving Rs2 million, under section 406 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

He said that Dijkot Station House Officer Malik Waris produced the suspect before the court. He continued that on the district courts premises some lawyers attacked the police. He said the lawyers not only hurled life threats at the policemen but also tore their uniform, snatched cash, ID cards, service cards and other valuables. They were also subjected to unlawful detention, he said, adding that the lawyers’ act of violence terrorised the litigants and others present on the courts premises. So, the lawyers were booked for their wrongdoing under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

“Now more cases will be filed against the agitating lawyers for attacking police and public properties,” he added.

Faisalabad District Bar Malik Mohammad Amjad denied all the allegations and said that the SHO had arrested the brother of a lawyer without any case and justification. Later, the police officer misbehaved with the lawyers at the court premises.

“Some junior lawyers had exchanged harsh words with policemen. Subsequently, both the parties scuffled with each other,” he said and categorically denied charges of kidnapping or unlawfully detaining the policemen.

“We are protesting because the police booked the lawyers under terrorism charges and that was unfair,” the lawyers representative said.

Published in Daily Times, May 1^st 2018.