Justice Anwar Of LHC Refuses Hearing Of Petition Against Lawyers' Detention

The Judge excused himself from hearing of the case for personal reasons and sent the case to CJ to fix it before any other bench.

LAHORE: (Urdu Point/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 13^th, 2019) Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday excused himself from hearing the case challenging detention of lawyers.

Justice Haq sent the case to the Chief Justice to fix it before any other appropriate bench.

Police arrested 46 lawyers for attacking Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) during a violent protest against the doctors on Wednesday. The police also submitted report against the lawyers under anti-terrorism acts.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Thursday (yesterday) sent 46 lawyers to jail on judicial remand of 14 days.

Ghulam Murtaza Chaudhry, vice president of Supreme Court Bar, Sughra Gulzar, advocate Nausheen Ambar and Tahir Minhaas represented the accused lawyers in the court of Justice Haq.

On Wednesday, at least 250 were booked under Section 7 Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and others sections including Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 for allegedly attacking Punjab Institute of Cardiology, torturing doctors and attendants of the patients and putting police van on fire outside the hospital.

The police registered two FIRs against the lawyers; first with Shadman police station on the complaint of Saqib Shafi Sheikh on behalf of Punjab Institute of Cardiology and the second FIR was registered on the complaint of Inspector Syed Intikhab Hussain on behalf of Police.

Complainant Inspector Syed Intekhab Hussain said that he was on patrolling when some lawyers holding a pistol and sticks approached his police vehicle and with an intention to kill, directly fired on him. He said after realizing the seriousness of the situation he tried to flee from there but his car climed onto a footpath and the lawyers surrounded it and started damaging it. The complainant officer said some lawyers shouted and asked his colleagues to set the vehicle on fire and to kill the police officials.

They also fired on the police vehicle and set it on fire. The first FIR was registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, Section 290 (public nuisance), 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 353 (assault), 324 (attempt to murder), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 186 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions) of the PPC.

The FIR second FIR that was registered on complaint of Saqib Shafi Sheikh on behalf of the PIC also carried Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 322 (manslaughter), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty),186 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 337-H (2) (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) and 395 (punishment for dacoity) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Lahore Bar Association Bar Association Malik Maqsood Khokhar, its vice president Ijaz Basra and LBA next candidate for the slot of President Rana Intizar were the prominent lawyers who were booked under the first FIR registered by Shadman police.

At least 12 people died after around 250 lawyers attacked Punjab Institute of Cardiology in clash with doctors. The lawyers ransacked the windows of the hospital, interrupted heart surgeries, thrashed attendants of the patients and left many others including a security guard of the hospital injured. They also set a police van on fire and created law and order situation at PIC and surrounding areas including GPO chowk where they tortured the common citizens and commuters.