Police barred from entering 43 districts and 170 tehsil bars across Punjab

The Punjab Bar Council on Wednesday announced a ban on police entering all 43 districts and 170 tehsil bars in the province after the killing of two lawyers, Mr. Muhammad Zeeshan Dhudhi Vehari and Mehr Muhammad Munir Sadhana, a lawyer and former president of the Jhang District Bar Association.

In an official statement, the President of the Bar Council said that police would not be allowed to enter the bar premises until further notice. He also called for filing cases against suspects under the Lawyers’ Protection Act, a law that provides specific procedural protections for lawyers 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 the Punjab Police and IG Punjab. The Bar Council’s call for a province-wide strike in the district courts also remained in force. According to the statement, courts have been 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 issued in the absence of an attorney.

A protest meeting is planned for 11:30 a.m. in connection with the killings, where members are expected to push for quick arrests and stricter enforcement of protections for lawyers.

As part of the protest, police officers and investigation teams were barred from entering bar and court offices. Lawyers are boycotting legal proceedings, leading to the suspension of hearings in thousands of cases. In Rawalpindi division alone, 14,695 cases could not be heard by district and tehsil courts.

Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Amjad Ali Shah arrived at the Rawalpindi District Bar on Wednesday to deliver a lecture on anti-terrorism laws without his police security team, as per the council’s ban. He said, “I left my entire police security team in the court and came 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 it.”

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Ashfaq Kahut, vice-president of the Punjab Bar Council, and Zubairullah Nagra, chairman of the executive committee, 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 a constitutional and legal right of lawyers. Our protest will continue until the suspects are arrested and cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Lawyers’ Protection Act,” they said.

Lawyers marched outside district courts chanting 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 distress over the killings on online platforms, including X.

Rawalpindi District Bar President Sardar Manzar Bashir and secretary Malik Asad Mahmood addressed the gathering saying, “The black coat is our symbol of honor, and we will not allow it to be disrespected. We are lawyers first, before being members of a political party. The murderers of the lawyers must be arrested. Until the arrests take place, the strike and protest will continue. will continue.”