Creating severe difficulties for the litigants, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Tuesday observed a strike against the killing of the father of a lawyer Sher Afzal Khan in a terrorist attack in Lakki Marwat. “It has now become routine for lawyers to observe strike despite the fact that there are many other ways to condemn the injustices,” said Jamal Ahmad, a private employee who came to the IHC in connection with the hearing of a case. He was of the view that people visited hospitals and courts to get some relief but it was not possible for them to get early justice if the lawyers continued their practice of observing strikes on every other day. A lawyer, who wished not to be named, told this scribe that the office bearers of the bar association could also register their protest after the closing time of courts and conveying their messages through media.
“But strikes are not against the government or terrorists but against the poor people who visit courts from the far-flung areas, but fail to get any help from judiciary due to the absence of lawyers,” he said. Talking to Pakistan Today, IHCBA President Chaudhry Ashraf Gujjar said they were aware of the problems being faced by the citizens, but lawyers could not compromise on some issues. He said the father of Sher Afzal Khan was the chairman of a peace committee in Lakki Marwat and his killing showed the failure of government to protect the lives of citizens.
Islamabad lawyers’ strike irks litigants
