Lawyers protest against 26th Amendment in Pakistan, clashes erupt near Supreme Court

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 10 (ANI): Lawyers in Pakistan organized a sit-in protest on Monday at Islamabad's D-chowk, overcoming obstacles and security checkpoints, as per Geo News.

They have called on all of their fraternity members to assemble at the protest site, according to the report posted by Geo News.

Geo News reported that since the lawyers had called for a protest outside the Supreme Court's building against the 26th Amendment to the Constitution and the appointment of new judges, security has been increased outside the court. Only Margalla Road remained accessible for entry to the Supreme Court, and a sizable police presence was stationed within the court's grounds. There were two levels of protection, outside the Supreme Court.

However, there has also been a partial suspension of the metro bus service between the twin cities. Lawyers opposing the 26th Amendment to the Constitution called for postponing the judicial commission meeting that was also planned for that day.

The authorities shut Srinagar Highway, Nadra Chowk, and Serena Chowk in spite of the lawyers' appeal that the local government permit them to enter the Red Zone and have a nonviolent protest as reported by Geo News.

When the lawyers attempted to enter the area by force, there were clashes between them and the police near Serena Chowk. They have also blocked the Srinagar Highway due to the influx of attorneys from Sindh and Balochistan.

Geo News stated that several legal organisations have condemned the protest against the judicial committee, claiming that certain legal organisations were participating for their political ends. The Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, Pakistan Bar Council, Balochistan High Court Bar Association, and Sindh High Court Bar Association all issued a unified statement denouncing the call to protest the judicial commission.

They said they completely backed the judicial commission's actions. "We fully support the 26th Constitutional Amendment and legislation after that and consider them a part of the constitution," they said as quoted by Geo News, adding that the right to give a call for protests was a prerogative of the representative organisations. In this context, three joint statements with the same theme have been issued by several legal bodies.

The new constitutional amendments give legislators more power in appointing the top judge - a move seen as sidelining the courts that have allegedly favoured jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)