QUETTA, June 1: Responding to a call given by the Balochistan Bar Council, Balochistan Bar Association and High Court Bar Association, lawyers boycotted court proceedings in the province on Thursday in protest against what they termed government excesses and registration of false cases against lawyers.

They took out a procession from the district courts and assembled in front of the press club. Protesters were holding placards with slogans condemning arrests of political workers, military operation in Balochistan and raids on houses of opponents of government.

Addressing the gathering, bar council’s vice-chairman Ali Ahmed Kurd warned that if the government ignored the peaceful protest of the bar members the lawyers’ community would launch an agitation.

Criticising intelligence agencies for arresting innocent people without fulfilling legal requirements, he said the federal and provincial governments were helpless before the agencies.

He said that false cases had been lodged against advocate Amanullah Kanrani for being a member of the Jamhoori Watan Party.

Mr Kurd said that there was no rule of law and police had given a free hand to criminals to kidnap people for ransom or commit robbery.