It has become a matter of routine for lawyers to air their illegitimate grievances not through constructive dialogue but by using violence. A group of a hundred-plus charged lawyers ransacked the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in protest at the demolition of their illegal chambers at Islamabad District Courts by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Not only was extensive damage done to IHC property but the mob practically laid siege to the chambers of IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah who was unable to safely exit the premises until three hours later when the situation was diffused. Outside, journalists reporting on the developments were threatened with physical violence. 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. Lawyers also draw a lot of their power from their respective bars that are heavily politicised as they hold tightly contested elections periodically. Leaders of these bars hold a lot of sway over a section of the senior judiciary and are therefore able to provide a lot of protection to members. Often they are the very people who incite the violence in the first place.
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.
