May 06, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1428

SAHIWAL, May 5: Eight lawyers injured in Friday clashes were being treated at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Sahiwal District Headquarters Hospital while one lawyer was referred to the Mayo Hospital in Lahore because of his life-threatening injuries. A local court has ordered the registration of a case against policemen, including the district police chief, for torturing the lawyers. Lawyers took out a rally on Saturday to condemn the police action.

Upto 42 lawyers were injured on Friday when police baton charged a torch-bearing rally of lawyers. Thirty-three lawyers were discharged from the hospital on Saturday.

Those being treated at the ICU (Burn Unit) were: Iftikhar Khawar, Saood Ayaz Saahoo, Rao Akram, Sohail Mohsin, Malik Sarwar, Rana Sajid, Naveed Mushtaq and Malik Fazal Karim. Mian Faisal Nauman has been shifted to the Mayo Hospital.

Lawyers took out a protest procession to condemn the police attack and traders associations also joined them. Amid chants against police, they besieged the office of District Police Officer Syed Javed Hussain Shah.

District Bar Association President Sheikh Muhammad Usman, Punjab Bar Council Member Tahir Shabbir, Abdul Mateen Chaudhry and Bar Secretary Islamul Haq addressed the rally and warned the government they would continue their protest unless policemen accused of injuring the lawyer were arrested.

DBA President Usman demanded the registration of cases against police under the Anti-Terrorist Act.

Trader bodies representatives — Sheikh Muhammad Bilal, Mirajud Din, Hakim Shah and Nawaz Anjam expressed their support to the lawyers and joined the procession.

District and Sessions Court Judge Jalaluddin Akbar took note of the police violence and ordered the registration of cases against nine police officers and 200 constables for injuring nine layers. The accused policemen will be tried for attempt of murder, terrorism and unlawful entry into the bar room. The policemen who will face the law are: DPO Javed Hussain Shah, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fida Hussain Shah, DSPs Moeen Butt and Sajjad Ahmed, station house officers Azhar Abbas Gill (City), Rao Shafqat Ali (Grain Market), Shafqat Kamboh (Farid Town), Shahzad Manzoor (Fateh Sher) and Rana Muhammad Usman (Civil Lines).

In a tit-for-tat move, the Civil Lines police also registered a case against DBA President Usman and 42 other lawyers for interference in the government working and injuring police officers and the constables.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senior Vice Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Punjab Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Liaqat Bloch, Tehrik-i-Istiqlal Chairman Asghar Khan, Manzoor Gilani and former National Assembly speaker Fakhr Imam enquired after the hospitalised lawyers on telephone.

Police during its late night crackdown arrested the five leaders of the MMA, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the PPP in a bid to stop them from attending a reception for the chief justice of Pakistan to be held in Lahore today.