February 20, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 2, 1428

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QUETTA, Feb 19: The lawyers’ community observed complete strike in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan on Monday to protest against the suicide attack in the court of Senior Civil Judge Abdul Wahid Durrani that claimed 16 lives on Saturday.

None of the lawyers attended court proceedings in Quetta and other cities of the province on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). The PBC has announced a three-day boycott of the courts in Balochistan.

Vice Chairman of the PBC Ali Ahmed Kurd said: "It was complete boycott of court proceedings in Balochistan against the inhuman and barbarian terrorist act."

Meanwhile, a joint meeting of the general body of lawyers bodies, including the Balochistan Bar Council, the High Court Bar Association, the Balochistan Bar Association and the Baloch Bar, was held here under the chairmanship of Mr Kurd.

The general body of the lawyers’ bodies adopted various resolutions in the meeting that discussed the situation in detail and strongly condemned the tragic incident.

Through a resolution the lawyer bodies jointly demanded that the government should conduct an impartial probe into the suicidal attack on the court of senior civil judge through a commission.

Another resolution, while expressing concern over the security situation in the province and especially in courts, demanded that the government should make foolproof security arrangements for providing protection of the judges of all courts, lawyers and other people who visited courts.

It was also demanded through another resolution that all victims of the tragic incident, including lawyers, should be provided better medical treatment. "If they need specialized treatment they should be shifted to

Karachi or other cities for saving their lives," the resolution demanded.

It was also decided in the meeting that lawyers would take out a protest procession from the district courts on Tuesday in which all lawyers would participate.

The joint general body meeting of the lawyer bodies denied the allegation of the Chief Minister Jam Yousuf, Home Minister Mir Shoaib

Nausherwani and City Nazim Maqbool Lehri that the government withdraw security equipment from the courts after the protest of lawyers and their representative bodies.

"Lawyers and their representative bodies never protested over being frisked at the gate of the high court and sessions court," the meeting observed. It demanded that the government should have resigned after the suicide attack on the court of the senior civil judge as it failed to give protection to judges, lawyers and other people.

Lawyers offered Fateha for the departed souls of Senior Civil Judge Abdul Wahid Durrani, lawyers and other people who lost their lives in the suicide attack in the courtroom.