ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s lawyers started a three-day strike on Monday after the arrest and sentencing of advocates Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, with boycotts halting court proceedings across the capital.
Islamabad High Court Bar Association Secretary Manzoor Jajja confirmed that lawyers had been asked not to appear before courts. “Today, lawyers staged a strike in the Islamabad High Court. Lawyers did not appear in court, as requested,” he said.
Jajja said lawyers must remain united against what he described as police oppression and announced that they would proceed to the district courts in a convoy to formally register their protest. A rally later moved from the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the adjoining SSP office, where lawyers chanted slogans against the police.
The Islamabad Bar also banned police entry into court premises. Lawyers removed police personnel who had been stationed in the court canteen. Earlier in the day, a separate demonstration was held outside the Sessions Judge East court, where additional police were deployed to maintain order.
The strike also surfaced during a civil case hearing at the Islamabad High Court. Advocate Qaiser Abbas Gondal, appearing for one of the parties, informed the court that the strike was being observed in response to the detention of lawyers. He said the Bar Secretary was also scheduled to appear in the case but did not attend due to the strike.
IHC Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar sought details of the arrests, asking, “Which lawyers have been arrested?” Gondal replied that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha had been detained.
The chief justice then asked, “Do you consider them lawyers?” Gondal did not respond. “If you consider them lawyers, you may come to chamber and express your opinion,” the chief justice added.
Due to the strike, no progress was made in the scheduled court hearings.
Mazari and Chattha were arrested on Friday in Islamabad while reportedly heading to the district courts. An anti-terrorism court later sent them on a 14-day judicial remand.
Lawyers bar police from entering IHCBA premises
Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) restricted police personnel from entering the sessions court’s building in the federal capital on Monday. The lawyers ordered the policemen sitting in a court’s canteen to leave the premises immediately.
Large numbers of lawyers under the leadership of IHCBA President Naeem Gujjar were present outside the Sessions Court building. A protest rally will be taken out at 11 am from the District Judicial Complex to the SSP office, in which a large number of lawyers will participate.
Heavy contingents of police were deployed outside the Islamabad High Court building and other sensitive areas. Earlier on Saturday, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association announced a three-day strike which will start from January 26 to 28, to protest the allegedly unfair treatment and unprofessional attitude of the police.
The decision was reached during a joint session of the Islamabad Bar Council and the IHC Bar held at the Bar office.
The meeting participants strongly condemned the police’s behavior toward the President and Secretary of the IHC Bar. They also denounced the move to bar lawyers from attending the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) and demanded an immediate end to the harassment of the legal community.
Leadership appealed to the legal fraternity to abstain from appearing in court on January 26. They reaffirmed their commitment to the rule of law and expressed their determination to maintain lawyer unity.
