Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) have jointly announced to observe September 8 as ‘Black Day’ to mark their demonstration on failure of the government in arresting the culprits involved in Quetta carnage.

Both bodies of legal fraternity also warned the government of extending the magnitude of protest in case the government failed to apprehend the culprits.

PBC and SCBA also lamented that the chief justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice over the abduction of Sindh High Court chief justice’s son, but had not taken cognizance of Quetta carnage, which claimed the lives of 65 lawyers besides leaving more than 100 injured.

On the call of PBC, lawyers from Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Sindh High Court Bar Association, Rawalpindi and other bar associations of the country, led by PBC Vice Chairman Dr Farogh Naseem and SCBA President Syed Ali Zafar, held a protest in front of the Parliament House, Islamabad on Monday.

The lawyers on the occasion chanted slogans against the incompetence of the government in provision of security and held placards and banners inscribed with their demands.

Dr Farogh Naseem, while addressing the protestors, said that the federal and provincial governments have failed to arrest perpetrators of Quetta blast that killed more than 65 lawyers along with other citizens, but we did not level any allegation against a person or institution. “We gave one-month timeframe to the government to arrest the perpetrators. If the government fails to arrest the miscreants, the protests will be converted into a prolonged sit-in,” he added.

Barrister Syed Ali Zafar said that the attack on lawyers was tantamount to attack on Pakistan. “The culprits involved in the suicide attack should be brought in front of us. The authorities should disclose the culprit behind this gruesome incident,” the SCBA president added.

He said that the lawyers would continue their protest until the bereaved families of the victims would be compensated for their losses. He asked the government to inform the nation what measures it has taken to protect ‘soft targets’ from the terrorists. Barrister Zafar on the occasion also presented a photo of a suspicious man believed to be involved in Quetta hospital blast. He said that the image was sent by the superintendent of police in Quetta, claiming that the man, wearing a black coat, was allegedly involved in Quetta carnage.

The suicide bomb attack at Quetta’s Civil Hospital on August 8 claimed the lives of 74 persons, mostly lawyers who had gathered at the premises following the killing of Balochistan Bar President Bilal Anwar Kasi in a gun attack.