What transpired after the successful judicial coup during the last over a year and especially this week left the common man dumbfounded to have seen the action replay of the ‘historical’ lawyers’ movement, but with a difference that this time all those spin masters from the Bar and Bench, the media, the so-called civil society and last but not the least the religious-politico hypocrites today stand blackened faced, while the Advocate Ahmad Raza Kasuri, whose face outside the Supreme Court was painted black, might be having the last laugh. The terror nourished and nurtured seems to have backfired. Will anyone ever be able to put this gin back into the bottle or is it going to run over its own camp like the elephants of the Porus?
Many may argue that it was the Federal Law Minister, Babar Awan, whose distribution of huge funds among the Punjab Bars worked wonders, which taken to be true would only give credence to the earlier allegations of Nawaz Sharif’s financing of the then ‘unique’ judicial politics and painting the legal community on the whole a saleable commodity.
Media reports Saturday said that the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), in its general house meeting, declared LHC Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, his two sons - Khwaja Bilal and Khwaja Latif, and his son-in-law Azhar Hameed - persona non grata, and banned their entry to the LBA. Justice Sharif had served as the LBA president twice.
The LBA also declared Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Anwar, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan, Justice (retd) Nasira Javed, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Athar Minallah persona non grata. LBA President Sajid Bashir said references would be sent against these persons to the Punjab Bar Council for cancellation of their licences.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) called an urgent meeting and decided to hold nationwide conventions during the next week. The Punjab Bar Council (PBC) also suspended the membership of Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif and banned his entry to the LHC bar. Restrictions were also imposed on Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan, Qazi Anwar and Nasira Javed. The bar also announced cancellation of their licences.
On the other hand, twenty-nine civil judges of Multan resigned on Saturday and over 100 judges of the district judiciary of Lahore went on strike to express solidarity with the Lahore High Court chief justice. The civil judges led by Senior Civil Judge Ziaullah Chaudhry met Multan District and Sessions Judge Syed Ijaz Hussain Shah and tendered their resignations. Meanwhile, more than 100 judges of the district judiciary went on strike and refused to perform judicial work till the return of Sessions Judge Zawwar Ahmad Sheikh. They said Zawwar had been sent on forced leave. They also expressed solidarity with Sheikh Zawwar. They said they had no personal grudge against the legal fraternity and had a principled stand as Zawwar Sheikh was an honest and dedicated judge, and they should not be deprived of such an upright man
The mafia-like running the courts had witnessed several ugly incidents in the past, which the readers could refresh their memories from our blogs available on this Forum.
On Thursday, lawyers attacked the Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice’s chamber where they had gathered to reiterate their demand for the transfer of the district and sessions judge Zawar Sheikh. They chanted slogans against LHA chief Justice Sharif and Sessions Judge Zawwar Sheikh and used filthy language against them. The lawyers also burnt an effigy of the Sessions Judge outside the LHC CJ court. The protest turned violent as lawyers broke down windowpanes of the court room of the LHC chief justice (CJ) and also beat up the LHC registrar, Abdul Sattar Asghar, who tried to stop the lawyers from creating unrest in front of the courtroom.
Later in the evening, police teams raided Aiwan-e-Adl and arrested district bar’s president, Sajid Bashir, and many other lawyers including bar office-bearers when they were holding a press conference against the LHC chief justice. Police booked lawyers under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The operators pulling the strings underground saw that all the arrested LBA 50 lawyers instead of the earlier decision of sending them to jail on 14 days remand, were released on Thursday evening on the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice. Police severely tortured the lawyers and about two dozen of them were badly injured. A LHC division bench, headed by the chief justice, released all the lawyers, including LBA President Sajid Bashir, on bail, while the apple of discord Sessions Judge Zawwar Ahmad Sheikh was sent on one-week leave ‘on his own request’.
On Friday early morning, lawyers began to gather at the LHC to take out their rally against judges. The Lahore police showed resistance by firing tear gas shells and starting baton charge to stop the lawyers from coming out of the LHC building. A scuffle between police and lawyers continued for the second day. According to reports police and lawyers threw stones at each other followed by a baton charge by police. Lawyers also clashed with police on Mall Road where they staged a rally defying the imposition of Section 144. Several lawyers were arrested but reports indicate that the lawyers were released on bail and no action was taken against them.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday took suo motu notice of police torture on lawyers who were observing Black Day outside Lahore High Court (LHC). According to a statement issued by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Chaudhry summoned Punjab’s Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police, DCO, RPO and CCPO before the Supreme Court on October 4, 2010.
Even this failed to pacify the lawyers, who decided to continue their rally and demonstrations that occasionally went violent. The lawyers seemed in an aggressive mood after the release of their President Sajid Bashir and other colleagues.
Clashes between lawyers and police continued on Saturday, during which furious members of the LBA beat up policemen and journalists. The enraged lawyers in direct violation of the section 144, which had been imposed to keep their activities within bar premises, retaliated by throwing stones at policemen, damaging police vehicles and by beating up media persons.
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