PESHAWAR: The lawyers’ community on Thursday observed province-wide strike against the Indian Supreme Court ruling to uphold 2019 revocation of India-held Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

The strike call was given by Pakistan Bar Council which was endorsed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council so as to show solidarity with Kahsmiris.

The lawyers mostly stayed away from proceedings before courts including the Peshawar High Court and district courts.

The KP Bar Council’s vice chairman Zar Badshah Khan and its executive committee chairman Syed Mubashir Shah stated that the Indian government had violated the international law by revoking the special status of Occupied Kashmir on Dec 5, 2019.

They stated that the controversial judgment had undermined and compromised the credibility of the Indian Supreme Court. They added that the judgment was based on distorted historical facts and legal arguments.

Meanwhile, the KP Bar Council also condemned the terrorists attack on a military compound in Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan and prayed for the departed souls of the martyred personnel.

Zar Badshah and Syed Mubashir Shah also questioned the efficiency of the security agencies stating that for the last many years the terrorists had been targeting people and had become a threat to the country.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2023