LAHORE – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Lawyers’ Wing meeting on Saturday was marred by protests by lawyers from Lahore at the Lahore High Court (LHC) Bar Room. PML-N Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Naseer Bhutta was chairing the meeting when a group of lawyers led by Sirajul Islam stood up and came near the roster and started chanting slogans whenever any speaker came to deliver his speech.
The lawyers said that the meeting was being held illegally, as no central chief organiser of the wing was appointed except Arshad Jadoon, who was appointed the central organising general secretary. Bhutta and others tried their best to calm down the protesters but failed. Advocate Azam Chauhan was called to recite a poem of poet Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi but the protesters did not stop chanting slogans and hijacked the function.
Chauhan alleged that the protesters were acting on orders of some “outsiders”. Manzoor Ahmed from Mianwali dubbed the protesters as “howling wolves” on which other lawyers also started chanting slogans against the protesters and in favour of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. Salman Gujjar from Gujranwala said that the protesters were against the interest of the party and playing the game of others.
Afterwards, Sirajul Islam said that the protesters were not against the meeting but no consultation or discussion was held before appointing the chief provincial organiser. He said that the workers and lawyers who rendered tremendous sacrifices for the party had been ignored in the process. Islam said that all stakeholders should be taken on board to decide re-organisational matters of the forum.
Afterwards, the protesters stopped their act on which Bhutta authorised the presidents of the forum at the district and tehsil level to organise lawyers and follow the instructions of Nawaz. He said that we all were united and the protest by a group was a part of democracy, which was accepted cordially. Jadoon said that Nawaz had made all appointments and everyone will act according to his instructions.
