SAHIWAL: The ongoing standoff days between revenue officials and the Chichawatni tehsil bar association took a violent turn with lawyers allegedly attacking the office of the assistant commissioner.

During the attack, lawyers allegedly damaged furniture, tore official record and threatened the subordinate staff, while members of the tehsil bar association allegedly kidnapped Patwari Muhammad Zulqarnain and subjected him to torture.

Later, he was recovered by the police, elite force and Pera and the Chichawatni City Police registered a case against 60-70 lawyers on the complaint of Patwari Zulqarnain.

It was the second FIR against lawyers in consecutive days. Earlier, the City Police booked advocates Tajmal Hussain Chadhar, Sohail Iqbal, Ihsan Farid, and four unidentified individuals on the complaint of Naib Tehsildar Ghulam Mustafa.

The latest FIR claimed that nearly 100 lawyers, armed with sticks, rods, and bamboos, gathered outside Assistant Commissioner Javed Lakhwaera’s office. Eyewitnesses reported that hot words were exchanged between the lawyers and the revenue staff.

They claimed that lawyers stormed the AC office while the revenue staff resisted and the confrontation lasted for about 50 minutes.

The lawyers, before leaving, allegedly locked the revenue offices with padlocks they had brought with them, which were later broken with hammers by the revenue staff to resume their work.

Reports claimed that lawyers also attempted to confiscate the official records and tore several files.

Chichawatni DSP Saleem Rath said that 60-70 police personnel had been deployed around the AC office and tehsil court premises for security reasons. He said that no lawyer had been arrested and several had obtained bails in earlier cases.

Eyewitnesses said that all official work related to revenue and judiciary had come to a standstill, leaving thousands of citizens wandering in courts as lawyers remained engaged in internal meetings.

Meanwhile, the tehsil bar association had continued its boycott and protest, while patwaris were observing a pen-down strike.

Assistant Commissioner Javed Lakhwaera told Dawn by phone that the situation remains “non-negotiable” with “no improvement.” The AC said the matter had been reported to the district and divisional administration.

Sahiwal District Bar Association (DBA) President Marth Saeed Saghla said that they were observing a complete strike and he had called a lawyer’s convention on Monday to look into the matter.

Chichawatni Tehsil Bar President Sajjad Iqbal Gujjar claimed that revenue officials were at fault and the administration was not playing a role to deescalate the situation.

He said the lawyers wanted a peaceful resolution to the matter, however, the district administration was using coercive measures against them. He claimed that so far two FIRs had been filed against them on the instructions of the DC.

Repeated attempts were made by Dawn to contact Deputy Commissioner Sami Ullah Farooq but he did not respond to calls or messages.

The dispute began two days earlier when Naib Tehsildar Ghulam Mustafa was conducting routine court proceedings and Advocate Tajmal Hussain sought his attention, which was refused leading to a heated exchange. Tajmal allegedly called his colleagues, who stormed the revenue office and assaulted the officer.

Following the incident, patwaris staged a strike in support of the revenue officer, while the tehsil bar backed the lawyers. Both sides had passed separate resolutions condemning the other.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2026