Lawyers’ hooliganism

Published November 17, 2018

IT seems that a section of the legal community in Pakistan is keen to exhibit how not to fight one’s case. The latest demonstration of this was in Faisalabad, which has witnessed the rowdy behaviour of lawyers on many previous occasions as well. Footage released on the media shows a group of lawyers assaulting an apparently very civil deputy commissioner on Wednesday. The lawyers were demonstrating in favour of establishing a bench of the Lahore High Court in Faisalabad, Punjab’s second largest city. The images have led to universal condemnation, and on Friday, lawyers belonging to a certain group regretted the occurrence. But local journalists say that chances of this ‘apology’ being the first step towards a guarantee that lawyers henceforth will shun violence when they protest are rather slim — tied as the latest act of hooliganism is to some political needs urgently felt by the honourable members of the bar.

The shocking physical attack on a government officer has been linked to the election of the bar in the city in the not-too-distant future. The period, it is said, always finds lawyers in a more agitated state than usual, and the urge among some candidates to prove their credentials for the bar council’s office can lead to an awkward situation. In extreme cases, the poll-related activity can culminate in the kind of public scenes enacted on Wednesday. These assertions are backed by witness accounts that the deputy commissioner’s attackers included a learned gentleman who is vying for one of the top slots of the Faisalabad bar association. The information suggests just how much may be at stake in a bar election and how desperate the lawyers are to score a point over others, or how impatient they may be to secure a Lahore High Court bench for themselves in the city. If ever there was a case of anyone paying the prohibitive price for their choice, this is it.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan turbulence
Updated 19 Mar, 2024

Afghan turbulence

RELATIONS between the newly formed government and Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers have begun on an...
In disarray
19 Mar, 2024

In disarray

IT is clear that there is some bad blood within the PTI’s ranks. Ever since the PTI lost a key battle over ...
Festering wound
19 Mar, 2024

Festering wound

PROTESTS unfolded once more in Gwadar, this time against the alleged enforced disappearances of two young men, who...
Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...