FAISALABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court on Thursday rejected the pre-arrest bail applications of a Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) member and other lawyers who were booked on charges of thrashing a judge in his court and terrorising the people.

The district bar association announced a strike on Friday (today) against the decision.

On June 30 last, around a dozen people, including 10 lawyers, were booked by the Civil Lines police on charges of thrashing civil judge Malik Farooq Ahmed and disrupting the court process.

Police had registered a case under sections 7-ATA, 147, 149, 186, 337-A, 353 and 452 of the PPC with no arrest.

The judge alleged in the first information report that advocate Mehran Tahir, who is also a member of the Punjab Bar Council, turned up in the court during the proceeding. The suspect in an angry tone repeatedly asked him to come to his (judge) chamber.

He said when he entered his chamber, Mian Hammad Raza, Mian Wajid, associates of Mian Mehran, and some six to seven lawyers also came to the chamber. Two others - Owais and Sajid Farooq - also entered his chamber from another door.

The judge said Mehran allegedly slapped him and also hit his head against a paper weight lying on the table as a result bleeding started. The judge said other suspects allegedly thrashed him and tore his shirt too. He said he fainted while another judge Sarfraz Ahmed came to his chamber after hearing noise, the FIR reads.

The judge claimed that he had refused Mehran a decree in favour of applicant Mian Tahir Farooq.

After registration of the FIR, the Faisalabad DBA had observed a strike terming the FIR ‘fake and frivolous’ against Mian Mehran Tahir and other lawyers.

After rejections of the bail applications, bar secretary Khurram Ijaz issued a message to the media on Thursday, saying the district bar strongly condemned the ‘biased decision’ of the court in the matter of Mehran Tahir and other advocates and “even we had withdrawn the strike and protest as a good will gesture.”

“We also announce strike for Sept 10 against this decision and in solidarity with our members,” the message reads.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021