QUETTA: The lawyers’ community has announced that after about seven weeks it is ending its boycott of court proceedings.

The community had decided to boycott court proceedings in the aftermath of a suicide attack on the Sandeman Civil Hospital, Quetta, on Aug 8, which had claimed the lives of 78 people, including 57 lawyers.

The attack took place at a time when hundreds of lawyers had gathered at the hospital after the killing of Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association.

The decision to end the boycott was announced by the president of Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Abdul Ghani Khilji, Abdullah Jan Kakar and Ataullah Langove at a joint press conference here on Sunday.

They, however, said the legal community would continue to observe strikes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in protest against the government’s failure to bring to justice the elements behind the suicide attack.

They announced that protest rallies and sit-ins would soon be organised in front of the Balochistan Assembly, Quetta Press Club, the Chief Minister House and the Governor House. They rejected the judicial commission formed by the provincial government to investigate the Quetta carnage. “No lawyer would appear before the commission,” Mr Khilji said, adding that the commission had been formed to sabotage the suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court on the matter.

He said a countrywide movement would be launched to expose the killers of lawyers and a committee had been formed to run the movement smoothly.

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Ali Ahmad Kurd, Sajid Tareen, Abdullah Kakar, Omar Farooq, Abdul Wali Nasir, Kamran Murtaza, Amanullah Yasinzai, Amir Rana and other senior lawyers were present during the press conference.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2016