KP lawyers observe strike to protest killing of colleague in Swabi

PESHAWAR: The legal fraternity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday observed a strike across the province to protest the killing of a lawyer in Swabi district.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had given the call to protest the killing of Zainullah advocate in Swabi. According to reports, some unidentified persons opened fire on Zainullah advocate at Jehangira Road in Swabi on Friday. The advocate died on the spot, while the attackers escaped.

In the provincial metropolis, speaking at a gathering, the lawyers' leaders including Muhammad Sareer Khan, vice-chairman, KP Bar Council, PHC Bar Association President Arbab Muhammad Usman, General Secretary Rahmanullah Khan, Peshawar Bar Association President Wakeel Zaman and former PHCBA general secretary Muhammad Ayaz Khan condemned the lawyer's killing and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

They asked the provincial government to provide security to the lawyer community as many lawyers have been killed in the province. For security threats to the lawyers, the PHC had allowed prohibited arms licence to the lawyers.

Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah told The News about 37 lawyers have got the arms licences that so far after the high court's decision. Meanwhile, the litigants and accused persons whose bail petitions were fixed for hearing suffered due to of the lawyers' strike.

Also, a senior lawyer Muhammad Khurshid Khan filed a writ petition in the high court, seeking an order for the lawyer bodies not to observe strikes without proper consultation and genuine reasons.

"The bar associations only give a strike call, but there is no protest meeting to raise the issue with the government," he told The News. He said that the lawyers cannot achieve goals just on the strike call as they should then take up the issue with the government. The litigants suffered a lot due to such strikes, he added.