March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

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LAHORE, March 17: Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja has said that lawyers had not set a good example by violating Section 144. In an official statement, he said lawyers should abide the law as they were a responsible segment of society. He said that the chief minister had not permitted PML lawyers to take out a rally on The Mall after their convention at Alhamra recently in view of the restriction.

Mr Raja said instead of upholding the law a group of lawyers was determined for a violent protest and pelted stones on police and posed threat to life and property.

He said last year participants in a rally against publication of blasphemous caricatures had damaged property in Lahore and some precious lives were lost, therefore, police had taken security measures to ward off any untoward incident.

The minister said no vehicle on the premises of High Court had caught fire due to teargas shell and actually some miscreants had set the car on fire only to blame police.

He said a judicial inquiry had been ordered into the incident and action would be taken against the guilty people in the light of the inquiry report.

POLICE CLAIM: A spokesman for the capital city police said that the lawyers had violated the Section 144 CrPC and tired to block traffic system on The Mall besides damaging public property.

According to a handout, the police asked them to remain inside Lahore High Court compound but they came outside by breaking the gate and hurled bricks at police. In order to maintain law and order situation, police tired to push them back inside the high court building. Due to severe brick batting, ASP Jahanzeb Nazir Khan, SP Amjad Mahmood Qureshi, Inspector Ashraf Jadhar, Rana Haseeb and about 15 constables were injured. Constable Shabbir was seriously injured and was in critic condition at Services Hospital.