Lawyers boycott courts in Balochistan, protest attack on ATC judge

Published November 12, 2014
Lawyer during a protest rally in Quetta. -INP/File
Lawyer during a protest rally in Quetta. -INP/File

QUETTA: Lawyers across Balochistan on Wednesday observed a boycott of courts to protest over a bomb attack on Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) Judge Quetta, Nazeer Ahmed Langov.

One person was killed and over 30 others were injured when militants targeted the convoy of the ATC judge in Quetta's Double Road area on Tuesday morning. Langov was unhurt in the blast that rocked the provincial capital.

The Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) had given the strike call to condemn the attack.

Lawyers did not appear before courts in Quetta and other district headquarters of Balochistan to mount pressure on the government to ensure the protection of judges and members of the legal fraternity.

"The govt has failed to protect its citizens," Baz Muhammad Kakar, a lawyer leading the protest movement told Dawn.com.

He said targeting lawyers and judges was the order of the day in Quetta and other parts of the province.

Also read: ATC judge survives bomb attack

Courts in Quetta were deserted as lawyers refused to appear. Clients who were waiting at the courts, remained the worst affected by the lawyers strike.

"We have been waiting since morning but my counsel is yet to turn up," Musa Khan, a resident of Killa Abdullah who was waiting for his lawyer told Dawn.com in district court Quetta.

BBA has lashed out at the government and law enforcement agencies for their failure to protect lives and properties of ordinary citizens.

"Why are our colleagues being targeted, where are the law enforcement agencies?, Kakar asked.

The lawyers have warned that they would intensify their movement if the government failed to protect lawyers and judges.

In the meantime, the Balochistan government has sent a summary to the federal government for granting bulletproof vehicles to high court, session court and ATC judges.

CCPO Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema told reporters that the Center was asked to install jammers at the vehicles of senior police officers.

The government made the request in the aftermath of increasing attacks on judges and police officers in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan.

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