LAHORE: Lawyers on Monday observed a token strike against the attack on the house of former governor and lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa and the alleged brief abduction of senior lawyer Uzair Bhandari.

Speaking at a general house of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, its president Chaudhry Ishtiaq A. Khan said the lawyers had kicked off their movement and they would not give up without achieving its targets. He said the powers that be were warned against the persecution of lawyers but they apparently ignored the warning. He urged the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) to play its role for protection of lawyers. He asked the law minister to ensure early release of all the ‘abducted’ lawyers in the country.

LHCBA vice president Rabbiya Bajwa said the way lawyers, especially the women, were being treated was condemnable. She said the lawyers had also a uniform like the military and deserved equal respect. She said the lawyer’s movement would be decisive as either the Constitution or the tyranny would survive.

Lahore Bar Association President Rana Intizar Hussain said if the government did not mend its ways, there would be a replay of the 2007 lawyers’ movement. He regretted that the judiciary failed to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens. He said legal options would be used against all illegal actions of the government. The lawyers boycotted the courts’ proceedings and appeared in urgent cases only.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2023