KARACHI: Lawyers stormed the City Courts police station and then staged a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road on Tuesday after counsel for YouTuber Rajab Butt registered a case against their colleagues for manhandling his client a day ago.

On Monday, Mr Butt was roughed up by some lawyers at the City Court premises during the hearing of his bail plea in a case registered against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Mr Butt’s lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq, registered a case against Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi, Advocate Abdul Fatah and “another 15-20 lawyers” under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of the theft), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 337-A (Punishment of shajjah) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Mian Ashfaq stated in the FIR that his client had arrived at City Courts at 9am to seek bail, but when he reached the inner premises near the West building, lawyers Solangi and Fatah, along with 15-20 other lawyers, attacked and started beating the YouTuber, causing him injuries. “The attackers assaulted me as well and other lawyers from my office,” he added.

He alleged that during the attack, Mr Butt was holding a bag containing Rs300,000, which was snatched from him. He said that Advocate Solangi later returned the bag, but the cash was missing.

He also said that his client was then forcibly taken to the additional district and sessions judge (Central), where they “threatened to kill my client”.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that so far no one had been arrested.

Later, a group of lawyers stormed the City Courts police station demanding a case against the YouTuber and others. A large number of lawyers, including Karachi Bar Association (KBA) President Aamir Nawaz, staged a protest on M.A. Jinnah Road outside the City Courts against the SHO of the City Courts police station for allegedly failing to register their FIR.

The protesting lawyers claimed that the police had earlier registered a case against their two colleagues, but declined them to register an FIR against the YouTuber when they approached the police station to record their statements and lodge a counter complaint.

However, the lawyers ended their sit-in after police convinced them to do so by the police, said DIG Raza.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2025