Re: Baton-wielding lawyers attack district revenue officer
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/aug-2007/12/editorials3.php
Uncivil lawyers
THE lawyers’ four-month long movement to uphold the independence of the judiciary remained peaceful, except for the manhandling of journalist Khalil Malik who had given a disparaging account of it, casting a shadow over the otherwise admirably handled mass struggle. Yet again, another unsavoury incident occurred the other day: Advocate Naeem Bukhari, who had written the letter against the CJ that formed the basis of the reference, was given a sound beating by lawyers on a Rawalpindi court premises. He had been banned from entering the bar association but on his appearance in the court was ‘punished’. It is unfortunate that those who are there to plead for the rule of law should be taking the law into their own hands. If in their view the squashing of the reference had not been punishment enough for Mr Bukhari, they should have taken recourse to some other legal means: taking him to a court of law for levelling flimsy allegations, for instance. Similarly, they should have known that without freedom of the press it is impossible to sustain democracy that they were fighting for. No doubt, these acts must have been committed by some ill advised, junior lawyers but they have brought a bad name to the entire community. **It is the seniors’ obligation in such a situation to counsel the young among them to keep their rash sentiments under check. Otherwise, they risk losing the moral high ground that they are currently sitting in, in the eyes of the Pakistani people. **