HYDERABAD, Feb 23: Lawyers boycotted courts across the province on Saturday in protest against manhandling of their colleagues in Karachi by police.

In Hyderabad they did not appear in courts forcing judges to adjourn cases and accorded warm welcome to the lawyers and deposed judges who arrived here from Karachi in a judicial bus.

In Shikarpur, lawyers boycotted court proceedings to press the governemtn for restoring the independence of judiciary and releasing judges and lawyers including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry.

In Nawabshah, lawyers under the banner of district bar association boycotted court proceedings on a call given by the Pakistan Bar Council.