PESHAWAR: The Lawyers on Monday started a three-day strike across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against amendments made to the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) 1908, and introduction of a provincial anti-narcotics law.

The strike call was given by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council on Saturday after a meeting of representatives of different lawyers’ bodies, including the Peshawar High Court Bar Association and the district and tehsil bar associations.

PHCBA also announced to hold a general body meeting on Tuesday (today) to discuss the issues.

Lawyers mostly stayed away from court proceedings on Monday, and in most cases litigants had to appear in person.

The provincial government in Oct enacted KP Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2019, through which several important changes were made in the colonial-era law claiming that it would help provide speedy justice to litigants in civil cases.

Similarly, the government also enacted KP Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 2019, through which the federal Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997, was repealed within the province to the extent of cultivation, possession, selling, purchase, delivery and transportation of narcotics. While rejecting changes to both the laws, the KP Bar Council claims that the amendments would overburden the litigants further.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2019