October 19, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 6, 1428

PESHAWAR, Oct 18: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday stopped the local police from further proceeding on two FIRs registered against lawyers and police high-ups during a protest rally against the presidential election on Oct 6.

Several lawyers were injured in the incident which took place outside the NWFP assembly.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan and Justice Qaim Jan Khan fixed Oct 30 as the next hearing date and asked lawyers, who were witnesses to the incident, to furnish their affidavits. The bench also directed police to submit written comments in the case.

The PHC chief justice also took suo motu notice of an incident in which an armoured personnel carrier hit a group of lawyers, including Peshawar High Court Bar Association president Abdul Lateef Afridi.

The court had in the last hearing asked two private television channels to provide footages of the incident.

On Thursday, the bench was informed that DawnNews had provided the footage while Aaj TV had yet to produce it. The court asked the TV channel to provide the footage before the next hearing.

Two FIRs were registered at a local police station. One was registered against senior police officers on the complaint of lawyers and the other against lawyers charging them with setting on fire an APC and pelting the NWFP assembly building with stones.

Peshawar city police chief Abdul Majeed Marwat, SSP Mohammad Tahir Khan, SP Cantonment Ijaz Khan and other officials appeared before the court.

NWFP advocate-general Pir Liaqat sought more time to produce the security plan the provincial government had adopted on the day of presidential polls.

PHC Bar Association president Abdul Lateef Afridi, vice-president Mian Abdul Fayyaz, secretary-general Ishtiaq Ibraheem and other senior advocates appeared for lawyers.