ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Monday sought exemplary punishment for lawyers involved in a mob attack on the court building last week.
On February 8, scores of lawyers protesting against the demolition of their chambers by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) during an anti-encroachment drive the previous night wreaked havoc on the high court’s building.
The mob stormed the Chief Justice Block and held Justice Minallah and other judges hostage for hours.
During the hearing into the contempt of court case, IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) secretary Sohail Akbar Chaudhry sought the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the incident.
However, Justice Minallah said that the bar members “knew well who did all this [ransacking] the case doesn’t need a commission.”
“The bar should turn in those who were involved in the attack so that no one else is harassed,” he added.
Last Tuesday, the high court issued contempt of court notices to 17 lawyers including Islamabad Bar Council member Naseer Kayani and candidates vying for the top position of the IHCBA election on February 27.
Separately, the police registered an FIR against 21 lawyers under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Anti Terrorism Act (ATA).
The judge further said that all those involved in the attack were members of the bar, adding he recognised “half of them”.
Justice Minallah observed those who kept the judges hostage for hours have committed a grave crime. “It is a serious incident and those involved should be punished,” he remarked.
He further said that he had received a call from Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed as well, who asked what action was being taken against the lawyers.
“However, I told him that I don’t want to create a scene at the high court by taking action,” Justice Minallah said.
“The joint investigation team (JIT) has reported that the lawyers and the bar are not cooperating in resolving the case,” he further said.
The judge also expressed concerns over the assault inflicted on media workers and got the footage of the rampage deleted from their cameras.
He said such rowdy behaviour will not be tolerated at any cost.
“The attackers had planned to go on a rampage and they got the videos of the incident deleted,” he noted.
