KARACHI, Oct 2: The judicial magistrate-1, South, Aurangzeb Alamgir Qazi, on Tuesday ordered the release of Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Naeem Qureshi and three other leaders of the association, who were arrested in front of the Sindh High Court building on Monday.
The other lawyers were KBA managing committee member K.K. Javaid Khan, Abdul Jabbar and Ejaz Khattak. They were going to attend a general-body meeting at the Sindh High Court bar room when police took them into custody.
Two cases had been registered at the Preedy police station against the lawyers. One of the cases (FIR No 554/07) was registered under sections 147,148,149,1A6 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the four arrested persons and others. The other case (FIR No 555/07) was registered exclusively against Naeem Qureshi under Section 13-D of the Pakistan Arms Ordinance 1965. Police have shown the seizure of an unlicensed TT pistol, four live bullets and a charger from him.
The court granted them bail against a surety bond of Rs5,000 each, while in the 13-D case the KBA general secretary was granted bail against a surety bond of Rs10,000.
As the KBA leaders were brought to the court the lawyers shouted ‘Go Musharraf, go’ and other anti-government slogans and called for unity among the lawyers. They were taken to the bar room in a procession where rose petals were showered on them.
Torture alleged
Later, in his speech at the general-body meeting in the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall of the City Courts, Naeem Qureshi said they were arrested without any warrants and taken blind-folded to various police stations the whole day round.
He said police took his photographs and made his movies at different locations, even in the bushes, and they were subjected to torture.
Mr Qureshi alleged that police officials in an attempt to blackmail him asked various questions and they were treated as if they were high-profile terrorists.
Condemning the ransacking of the KBA office and stealing of the close-circuit TV cameras, the KBA secretary said the people knew well who had committed the crime, adding that the entire responsibility lay on the City Courts police as the KBA bar room was situated in its jurisdiction.
He praised the KBA managing committee members and all other lawyers who had stood against police excesses and remained steadfast in the face of odds. He said the next line of action would be announced at another meeting very soon.
Police, politicians criticized
KBA President and member of the Sindh Bar Council Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, commenting on the attitude of police to the lawyers, said that it was shameful of the government which, he said, had launched a drive for the arrest and torture of the lawyers.
“A government allied party had started targeting the lawyers and no good could be expected from its leadership and workers and police as well,” he said, and added that the party wanted to create a May 12 like situation in the city.
Criticising the politicians, he said they were busy in clinching deals for power sharing and cared little for the public. He said it was only the legal fraternity which was rendering sacrifices and leading the nation towards a rights direction.
He pledged that the lawyers would continue their struggle for the restoration of a genuine democracy and the constitution and would not bow before any dictator.
He asked the lawyers to follow the leadership, maintain discipline and unity among their ranks otherwise they would face more problems during the second phase of the lawyers’ movement initiated for the restoration of democracy.
KBA Joint Secretary Aamir Niaz Khan tabled some resolutions which were unanimously passed.
The general body criticised Advocate Khwaja Naveed for what they described as bargaining at the lawyers’ cost to get himself appointed advocate-general of Sindh. They appreciated Anwar Mansoor Khan for resigning from the post.
The meeting urged the chief justice of the Sindh High Court, Sabihuddin Ahmed, to take suo motu notice against police officials concerned for baton-charging, tear-gassing and beating the lawyers in the City Courts.
The SHC chief justice was also urged to order a judicial inquiry into the torture case and preparation of video films of the KBA general secretary by police.
Advocates Zia Awan, Mohammad Aqeel, Abdul Hafeez Baloch, Nihal Hashmi, Naheed Afzaal and K.K Javaid Khan also criticized the lawyers’ arrest and termed it an attempt to provoke them.
They condemned the tear-gas shelling, stealing of the CCTV cameras, registration of cases against lawyers and vowed to fight against ‘state terrorism’.
They flayed government policies and said the military dictators were misusing their official powers to suppress the opponents, adding that the lawyers were fully united and could not be deterred from the right path.
The cases against the lawyers were totally false which, they said, were registered just to pressure them into ending the anti-dictatorship movement.
