MULTAN: Police on Thursday registered a case against 51 lawyers and arrested 21 of them a day after they ransacked the district and sessions courts at the new judicial complex.

On Wednesday, a group of lawyers vandalised the judicial complex in response to a call by the District Bar Association (DBA) to protest a lack of facilities for the lawyers at the new complex.

According to the FIR No 777/11 lodged on the complaint of Sessions Court Superintendent Safdar Ayub under sections 7-ATA, 16 MPO, 353, 186, 452, 427, 148 and 149 of PPC against former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Sher Zaman Qureshi, DBA President Yousaf Zubair, general secretary Anees Mehdi along with 50 lawyers (carrying weapons, clubs and petrol). Thirty-two of them are nominated.

The complainant stated that those on duty including Bahauddin Zakariya police SHO Tahir Ijaz tried to stop the attackers but they subjected the officials to torture and started ransacking the valuables and tearing court record.

He stated the people present in the courtroom escaped to save their lives as the protesting lawyers damaged the chair of the judge, threw the portrait of the Quaid-i-Azam and used abusive language against the judge. He stated all this could be verified through a video.

Police arrested 21 nominated accused including Sher Zaman Qureshi, Yousaf Zubair, Anees Mehdi, former high court bar association president Mahmood Ashraf Khan and his brother, former DBA president Khalid Ashraf Khan. The arrests were made when the protesting lawyers came out of the premises of the old Katchery to protest.

There was an uproar at the intersection when police started arresting the protesters and traffic was thrown out of gear. The lawyers tried to resist the arrest but police did the job.

The lawyers boycotted the court proceedings at both district and sessions courts and high court.

Investigation Officer Muhammad Akram said police arrested some of the suspects.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2017