ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench was informed on Friday that a ‘patch-up’ is expected between both the estranged parties – the police and the lawyers – who clashed with each in Lahore on October 2, leaving many lawyers injured.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing a suo motu notice taken by the CJP on the clashes that took place between police and lawyers at the Aiwan-e-Adl on October 1 and 2 in Lahore.
Kazim Khan, a member of the inquiry committee constituted on the instructions of SC to probe into the matter – and also vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council – told the bench that after ‘sincere’ reconciliatory efforts, a patch-up was expected between both the estranged parties very soon.
He told the bench that he fell ill during the course of the inquiry and the following reconciliation efforts of the incident, otherwise the matter would have been resolved until now. Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sajjad Bhutta, Punjab Inspector General of Police Tariq Saleem Dogar and the Lahore commissioner also appeared in response to earlier orders of the Supreme Court.
The court later adjourned the hearing until the last week of November. The probe committee comprises Justice (r) Mian Allah Nawaz, Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Kazim Khan and Supreme Court Bar Association’s former president Ali Ahmad Kurd. The court asked the committee to seek assistance from senior lawyers, if required.
It directed judicial officers of Punjab’s subordinate judiciary, who resigned in protest against the lawyers’ attitude towards the judiciary, to immediately withdraw their resignations and continue working. It observed that such tactics were not professional. Justice Ramday observed that it seemed police was hatching a conspiracy against the judiciary.
Police-lawyers clash – Patch-up expected between estranged parties, SC told
