Why Lawyers are not accountable in Pakistan? Shafaqna Special

by Tauqeer Abbas
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 On Monday  hundreds of black coats forcibly entered and ransacked the courtrooms of Islamabad High Court (IHC). This is not the first time the so-called custodians of the law have displayed such behavior as we have seen and witnessed doctors, patients being beaten judges being locked up, even assaulted, by lawyers in the country. The lawyers were protesting the demolition of their chambers built all around the court area; the CDA has demolished them as illegal constructions. This is a matter that has been pending for years, with the lawyers’ chambers located now so close and in such a congested fashion to the Islamabad High Court building that it is not possible to pass while a children’s playground is also being gradually taken over by lawyers.

A similar incident took place back in 2017 when Multan’s Judicial Complex was vandalised after being stormed by enraged lawyers who were unhappy that the new premises would not house their chambers. In 2019, following a feud with young doctors of Lahore, violent lawyers went on a rampage at Lahore’s Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) that resulted in deaths of at least three patients, a minister being manhandled by the mob as he tried to reason with them and several police mobile vans being torched. Inside courtrooms, lawyers frequently misbehave with judges, often beating them up. The unchecked impunity enjoyed by these ‘practitioners of the law’ after having committed serious illegal offences is part of the reason why these events continue to take place on a regular basis.

There have been umpteen incidents since then where members of the bar have demonstrated an utter lack of restraint and decency. Judges have been abused in court, threatened with physical violence and locked inside their chambers by advocates at odds with their rulings. Just a few days ago, a judge in Lahore was set upon by lawyers and appallingly humiliated in his courtroom. In 2015, lawyers in Lahore were attempted to break into the Punjab Assembly, having so far succeeded in setting fire to the security shed in front of the Punjab Assembly gate. The Punjab Bar Council had called for a strike on May 27 and 28,2015 to condemn the Daska shootings.

Much of the blame however for what a shameful spectacle the legal profession has become in the country resides with the superior judiciary that has turned a blind eye to the behaviour of its junior factions. For instance, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), instead of outrightly condemning the actions of the lawyers, has criticised the IHC CJ for what transpired two days back. In this backdrop, the next violent attack by lawyers on a high court premises, district level court or any other sensitive installation, seems imminent. If the law defender become law breakers how one can blame a lay man? Infact their should be strict accountability of lawyers compared to a layman for breaching the law, but superior judiciary does not care for it.

Shafaqna Pakistan

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