KARACHI: Lawyers, protesters held in police crackdown
By Ali Hazrat Bacha
KARACHI, Sept 29: At least three lawyers and a press photographer were wounded and four other lawyers arrested on Saturday when lawyers came out of the City Courts to form a human chain to protest against President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s re-election attempt.
Police also arrested about a dozen protesters while they were chanting anti-government slogans in front of the Election Commission offices against the approval of Gen Musharraf’s candidacy for re-election. The scrutiny of papers for presidential election began on Saturday, which provoked the country-wide protests.
Those who were wounded when the police fired indiscriminate tear-gas shells were identified as advocates K.K Javaid Khan, Khalid Tanoli, Masoor-ur-Rehman Gilgiti and photographer Farid Khan. The arrested lawyers included Sindh Bar Council member Salahuddin Khan Gandapur, Karachi Bar Association Managing Committee member Saeed Qureshi, Zardad Khan and Suhail Noori.
The injured lawyers were shifted to the Civil Hospital. KBA managing committee members Sakhi Ghazali and Hafeez Baloch, who remained with them in the emergency ward, said the lawyers’ condition was stable.
Following a decision of the KBA general body meeting to register their protest against the presidential election of Gen Musharraf, the lawyers came out from the City Courts, but the police did not let them gather on Raja Riaz Shaheed Road, formerly known as Lewis Road.
The police had cordoned off the City Courts since morning. Dozens of vehicles were parked around the courts while hundred of policemen, both in uniform and plainclothes, were deployed in and around the courts.
The police resorted to tear-gas shelling, baton-charge and also threw stones on the lawyers’ procession. They also fired tear-gas shells into the women lawyers’ common room, Committee Room and Bar Room.
The police beat up lawyers and forced them to go back to the Bar Room.
The district and sessions judge, South, on an application of KBA General-Secretary Naeem Qureshi, directed the station house officers of the City Courts police station and Risala police station to remove all police personnel from the City Courts so that the lawyers could go home.
Mr Qureshi in his application submitted that due to the deployment of massive police force, the lawyers, especially women lawyers, could not move to their homes.
He moved another application in the court for the release of the lawyers, stating that they had not committed any crime and were completely peaceful, but the police misused their powers by resorting to tear-gas shelling and baton-charge on them.
The court issued directives to the SHOs to release the lawyers. The court also directed the judicial magistrates to personally see and make sure the release of the lawyers.
Meanwhile, the judicial magistrate-1, South, Aurangzeb Alamgir Qazi, following the directive of the district and sessions judge, South, raided the City Courts and Risal police stations to recover the Karachi Bar Association members, but the held lawyers had been shifted somewhere else.
Movement for Justice
At the EC offices, police manhandled supporters of the People’s Movement for Justice, a common forum of several social organizations who were holding a demonstration on Shahrah-i-Iraq near the Sindh High Court.
Some 20 protesters from different social and human rights organisations gathered outside the Election Commission office only to find police, who shoved them into a waiting van and drove to the Artillery Maidan police station.
Later an FIR (551/2007) was registered by Preedy police under Sections 147, 148, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code, for rioting and carrying weapons.
They said on a complaint by protesters, who had escaped arrest, a district magistrate visited the Artillery Maidan police station and asked the police authorities to release all the 11 people. However, the police officials, ignoring the magistrate’s orders, registered the case.
The arrested protesters included Ayub Qureshi, Farid Awan, Ali Yawar, Ali Hasan, Dr Riaz Ahmed, Ali Raza, Raheel Iqbal, Manzoor Razi, Asad Butt, Hasan Alia and Mahroof Sultan.
Sindh Adviser on Home Affairs Wasim Akhtar justified the police action and warned that the same strategy would be repeated on future such occasions. He claimed the protesters were violent and attempted to block the road in front of Election Commission.
“The protesters stoned the police party deployed to maintain law and order,” he said. “Later, they tried to block the road with heavy rocks. They actually forced the police to retreat.”
He also accused the lawyers of violating the rules while holding a protest demonstration at the City Courts. The adviser said the government would not allow any violent activity under the garb of protest.
“We can’t afford these kinds of activities and no organisation or community is allowed to ruin the city’s peace. The lawyers are not supposed to violate the law. They threw stones on police in the city courts, which was a shameful act,” he added.
He also confirmed the arrest of four lawyers, who were protesting at the City Court against the approval of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s candidacy for re-election.
“It is not yet confirmed but a case under the MPO (maintenance of public order) will be registered against them,” he added.
KARACHI, Sept 29: At least three lawyers and a press photographer were wounded and four other lawyers arrested on Saturday when lawyers came out of the City Courts to form a human chain to protest against President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s re-election attempt.
The police had cordoned off the City Courts since morning. Dozens of vehicles were parked around the courts while hundred of policemen, both in uniform and plainclothes, were deployed in and around the courts.
