Lawyers and journalists beaten at Pindi court
* Over 150 arrested, sent to different places
RAWALPINDI: Police on Monday injured dozens of reporters and lawyers when they tried to enter the Rawalpindi district courts, which was sealed. Only judges and their staff were allowed to enter the court premises.
Litigants were also stopped outside the court. The riots intensified when the lawyers gathered at Jhelum Road and shouted slogans against President General Pervez Musharraf. They lambasted the imposition of emergency and promulgation of Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO). “Down with Musharraf” and “Go Musharraf Go” echoed in the air. The police arrested over 100 lawyers including Rawalpindi District Bar Association (RDBA) President Raja Khalid Ismail Abbasi.
Some of the arrested lawyers were shifted to Civil Lines Police Station, Rewat Police Station and others to Attock Fort, RDBA Joint Secretary Shehbaz Ahmed Rajput told Daily Times. The lawyers were badly baton-charged, it’s witnessed. Muhammad Javed, a press photographer, had broken his two fingers during the baton-charge. The police first seized his camera and then returned it after taking out its memory card. Javed had lodged a complaint of this incident with Civil Lines Police Station.
Rajput said lawyers were never stopped from entering the courts in the country’s history. He claimed over 150 lawyers had been arrested. He said some RDBA office holders had went underground to continue their struggle for the cause of democracy and against the military rule. Before being arrested, the RDBA president, his deputy Abdul Hameed Malik and others demanded restoration of democracy and reinstatement of the chief justice. They condemned the government for imposing emergency and pledged to continue their struggle till the freedom of judiciary. They appealed to lawyers to continue the struggle after their arrest.
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/6/2007
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