PESHAWAR: Lawyers in the provincial capital on Wednesday boycotted courts to protest the Taliban attack on a local school and announced the boycott would continue for two more days.

Two separate meetings of lawyers took place in the city to mourn the school deaths with one convened by the Peshawar High Court Bar Association and the other by the Peshawar District Bar Association.

The PHCBA meeting was chaired by president of the association Essa Khan, while that of the PDBA was presided over by president of the association Razaullah Khan.

Besides lawyers, the judges, too, including Justice Qaisar Rasheed, Justice Asadullah Chamkani, Justice Mussarat Hilali and Justice Lal Jan Khattak, attended the PHCBA meeting.

In both the meetings, moving scenes were seen as several participants burst into tears over the Taliban violence against schoolchildren.

KP Bar Council gives call for two days protest across province

The meetings prayed to the Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in peace.

The participants said it was next to impossible for parents and relatives of the deceased students and school employees to put up with the loss.

They prayed to the Almighty Allah to give courage to the grieved families to bear their losses.

The participants condemned school attack and demanded early arrest of the masterminds of attack for exemplary punishment.

They said those involved in heinous crime were neither human beings nor Muslims as no one could even think of committing such a savagery.

Also in the day, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC) announced boycott of courts across the province on December 18 and 19.

KPBC vice chairman Akhtar Ali Nahqi and executive committee chairman Mian Abdul Fayyaz announced that Thursday and Friday would be the days of mourning.

They asked lawyers to stay away from courts on the two days.

Meanwhile, PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and other judges on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the grieved families over Peshawar violence.

In a news release issued here, they condemned the ‘cowardice and barbaric act of terrorists brought down on innocent children and teachers against all norms of humanity and morality.’

The judges prayed to the Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace, give speedy recovery to the injured and lasting peace to the country.

They said the judiciary was committed to ensuring the rule of law in the country so that people were provided speedy justice and the guilty were dealt with iron hand without fear or favour.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2014