LAHORE: Over a dozen lawyers on Saturday attacked police personnel outside an anti-terrorism court for arresting an advocate on charges of uploading hate material on social media against the state institutions.

A police team brought Advocate Mian Abdul Mateen to the court to seek his physical remand when the supporters of the lawyer assaulted the personnel.

However, the police resorted to baton charge to control the situation.

Later, the police produced the lawyer before the court and sought 14-day physical remand.

Judge Arshad Javed, however, allowed three-day remand of the lawyer.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) condemned the unbridled use of section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 against the lawyers.

In a statement, LHCBA Secretary Barrister Qadir Bakhsh Chahal said police abducted various lawyers including Mateen, Zohaib Imran, Talha Rasool and Usman Amjad from their offices. He said the police implicated the lawyers in fabricated cases.

He said police high-handedness put a question mark on the rule of law in the country. He said the lawlessness was rampant in the country.

Chahal demanded that the IGP cancel the FIRs of terrorism charges against the lawyers and release them immediately.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2024