THATTA: The legal fraternity on Wednesday observed a complete strike and staged protests against the passage of a judicial order that denied adjournment of a custodial torture case on the request of Thatta District Bar President Syed Aijaz Shah.

Judicial proceedings across Thatta district came to a complete halt and almost every case was simply put off to a next date.

The controversy began when Second Additional Sessions Judge Ahmed Nazar was hearing a bail application filed by CIA Inspector Mumtaz Hussain Brohi, who has been booked and arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in a torture case.

Brohi has been accused of beating up the Taluka Chairman of Mirpur Sakro Iqbal Ahmed Khaskheli and his colleague Mohammad Yusuf Shaheen. The FIA had also booked two SHOs of Thatta district police, Mukhtair Ali Kalhoro and Athar Ali Channa, in the same case.

Members of district bar demand retraction of controversial remarks in judicial order

According to the order, the bail application was taken up for hearing on June 30 and applicant’s counsel Farhad Ali Abro, the investigating officer of the case, Advocate Shafi Muhammad Pathan, counsel for complainant Iqbal Khaskheli; Abdul Ghafoor Memon, counsel for complainant journalist Yousif Shaheen; and prosecutor Muhammad Ayaz Ali were also present.

Thatta Bar President Aijaz Shah also appeared and requested adjournment on the ground that the complainant had gone to Islamabad due to an emergency.

The judge, however, observed that such statement “has no value in eyes of law and therefore, requires no consideration”.

The order stated it was “quite surprising that not only Mr. Aijaz Memon is available but many other advocates belonging to District Bar Thatta are also present before the court without submitting any vakalatnama and such kind of act seems like exercising a kind of pressure upon the Court which is not sustainable in the eyes of law”.

“As Qazi of the Court I do not see any justification in the adjournment application and act of learned advocate therefore, adjournment application and other statement available on record requires no consideration,” the judge wrote in the order.

However, the judge’s denial of adjournment did not go well with the bar president.

Talking to the media, he said: “We had requested an adjournment of one day from the acting Sessions Judge Ahmed Raza Abro for the bail application of CIA In-charge Mumtaz Brohi, as the applicant, Iqbal Khaskheli, was in Islamabad. Instead of granting the adjournment, the judge not only approved the bail but also wrote comments against us.”

He said that if the adjournment had been granted, the case would have been presented before the district and sessions judge.

Mr Shah declared that the lawyers’ protest would continue.

The protesting lawyers demanded an immediate explanation from the judge and retraction of what they perceived his controversial statements.

They termed the remarks as an “insult to the legal fraternity” and an act that “compromises the dignity of the judiciary”.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2025