PESHAWAR, July 13: About 50 lawyers helped one of their colleagues to escape from the premises of the Judicial Complex on Tuesday after his pre-arrest bail was rejected in a murder case.

It was learnt that lawyers chanted slogans and also resorted to violence inside the complex and helped their colleague, Waheed Kamran, to run away from the court of an additional district and sessions judge.

The lawyers pushed and shoved the police officials present there and some of them were reported to have tried to snatch their guns and overpower them, an eye-witnesses told this correspondent.

Negotiations were under way between the office-bearers of the Peshawar Bar Association and the local police for handing over of the accused. No FIR was lodged against the lawyers for violating the court's sanctity and helping in the escape of an accused.

Mr Kamran is a co-accused in a murder case in which his brother-in-law, Aamir Ali, is absconding. Both of them have been charged in an FIR registered at C-Division police station on May 25. They are accused of killing Mohammad Arif, brother of Mr Ali, in a dispute over property.

Eye witnesses said that as soon as judge Rajab Ali Khan announced the order, police officials present there tried to take the lawyer in their custody but about a dozen lawyers resisted their move and helped the accused to escape. The president of the PBA, Fida Gul, was unable to pacify the lawyers. Later, more lawyers arrived at the place and started chanting slogans against the police.