KARACHI: A group of lawyers along with some members of civil society on Saturday gathered in Clifton to condemn the rampage at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and express solidarity with the victims.

Holding placards and chanting slogans, the participants, mostly young lawyers, said that they had not assembled against any group, but to express sympathy with the victims of the PIC incident.

Like representatives of the legal community, the participants also restrained themselves from condemning the lawyers who stormed the PIC in Lahore and said that they did not come out to criticise or target any fraternity and sought an “amicable” solutio n.

They maintained that they were trying to dispel a perception that the lawyers or doctors were not peaceful people, adding that both the communities could coexist peacefully.

They urged the government to engage both the fraternities and bring them to the negotiation table to settle the issue.

Regarding the accountability of the lawyers for attacking the PIC, they were of the view that the Pakistan Bar Council was the statutory body and could proceed against lawyers if found guilty.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2019