Police barred entry into all 43 districts, 170 tehsil bars across Punjab

The Punjab Bar Council on Wednesday announced a ban on police access to all 43 district and 170 tehsil bar societies across the province following the killings of two lawyers – Mr. Muhammad Zeeshan Dhudhi Vehari and Mehr Muhammad Munir Sadhana, advocate and former president of Jhang District Bar Association.

In an official statement, the President of the Bar Association said that the police would not be allowed to enter the premises of the bar for the time being. He also called for the registration of cases against the suspects under the Lawyers Protection Act, a law that gives lawyers specific procedural protections and prescribes enhanced penalties in cases involving violence or intimidation against lawyers.

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Lawyers across the province are protesting because the suspects are yet to be arrested despite repeated appeals to Punjab Police and IG Punjab. The Bar Council’s call for a province-wide strike at the District Courts also remained in force. According to the statement, the courts were asked not to issue “adverse orders” during the boycott – a term generally used in the legal system to refer to ex parte or criminal orders passed in the absence of counsel.

A protest meeting is planned for 11.30 in connection with the killings, where members are expected to push for quick arrests and stronger enforcement of the protection of lawyers.

As part of the protest, police officers and investigative teams have been barred from entering bar offices and court rooms. Lawyers are boycotting trials, leading to the suspension of hearings in thousands of cases. In Rawalpindi Division alone, 14,695 cases could not be tried in the district and tehsil courts.

On Wednesday, Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Amjad Ali Shah arrived at the Rawalpindi District Bar to deliver a lecture on anti-terrorism laws without his police security team in compliance with the council’s ban. He said, “I left my entire police security team at the court and have come here alone without security. I don’t feel any danger here. As a lawyer, I am also a member of the Punjab Bar Council and I am proud of that”.

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Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Ashfaq Kahut and Executive Committee Chairman Zubairullah Nagra said after a special protest meeting that the killings were carried out in an extremely brutal manner and called for the speedy arrest of the suspects. “Peaceful protest is the constitutional and legal right of lawyers. Our protest will continue until the suspects are arrested and cases are registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Lawyers’ Protection Act,” they said.

Lawyers marched across the district courts shouting slogans such as “lawyers will not tolerate terrorism.” By 11 am, all district and tehsil courts in Rawalpindi Division were empty, reflecting the full impact of the strike and court boycott.

Lawyers also expressed their concern over the killings on online platforms, including X.

Addressing the gathering, Rawalpindi District Bar President Sardar Manzar Bashir and Secretary Malik Asad Mahmood said: “The black coat is our symbol of honor and we will not allow it to be disregarded. We are lawyers first before we are members of a political party. The killers of the lawyers must be arrested. Until the arrests are made, the strike will continue”.