PESHAWAR: The lawyers’ community observed boycott of the courts across the province on the call of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council against the killing of four persons by law enforcement agencies in Sahiwal district.

The lawyers mostly stayed away from proceedings before different courts in the provincial capital as well as other cities.

Their representatives demanded of the government to award exemplary punishment to the culprits involved in the killing of innocent citizens, including two females, so that in future no member of any law enforcement agency acted in such a brutal and irresponsible manner.

The Peshawar High Court Bar Association’s President Syed Abdul Fayyaz, its general secretary Yasir Khattak, and other senior lawyers told mediapersons that it was responsibility of the government to protect the life and property of citizens.

They condemned the occurrence and said instead of registering FIR against the responsible personnel of police the case was registered against unknown persons which proved the mala fide intentions on part of the government.

They stated that instead of forming JIT the occurrence should be probed through a judicial commission. They said such incidents had also taken place in the past, but no action was taken against the responsible officials.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2019