MUMTAZ Qadri committed a premeditated murder in broad daylight witnessed by many, including police officials.

He confessed, in a proper court of law, to his crime without any duress or coercion and was sentenced to death by an authorised adjudicator after due process.

An uproar against the judgment by the Islamists was quite expected, but what I fail to understand is how could a lawyers’ community take part in such protestation and rally on roads against the verdict?

Was there any legal obligation not observed during the trial, or was there any miscarriage of the judgment at any stage for which the black coats were registering their protest?

Or, do they want that the law should not take its course and a murderer be not punished by a court of law?

Or, are they pressuring the judiciary not to carry out its duties which does not make any sense to me?

I thought lawyers were there to assist courts in administering justice and not to hamper and impede its work and duties.

A convict has the right to appeal and lawyers could assist him in that if they wished so.

They can and should fight the battle legally in proper court rooms and not in the street.

Who should know more about this most fundamental statute than lawyers themselves that the proper course of action is to argue a case in the court than parade in public in favour of a condemned assassin!

COL (Retd) RIAZ JAFRI Rawalpindi