Police Beat Pakistan Lawyers in Clash Over Ousted Appellate Judges
Pakistani lawyers clashed with riot police in Islamabad as they protested dozens of appellate judges’ continued absence from the bench. The judges were ousted last year when former President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and what many considered martial law.
“Some lawyers were beaten by officers in front of the parliament building, the first such incident since the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government came to power in March, live footage by the local broadcasters showed. The clashes started when a number of lawyers tried to enter the adjacent Supreme Court building,” writes Bloomberg, citing a report by the AAJ television channel.
Additional details are provided by the Times of India, which says “the melee broke out after around 100 black-suited lawyers tried to enter the Supreme Court building by climbing the main gates, shouting slogans against the new chief justice appointed by Musharraf in November.” About 500 lawyers were involved in the protest, the article says.
About a dozen of the approximately 60 judges removed from office by Musharraf had been reinstated, at last report, and the issue is dividing the country’s new governing coalition.
The country’s lawyers, who were a major force in national protests that led to parliamentary elections and Musharraf’s resignation earlier this year, held a nationwide protest Aug. 28 over the appellate judges. They vowed today to continue their demonstrations until Iftikhar Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice of the Pakistan’s supreme court, and the other ousted appellate judges are returned to the bench.
Earlier coverage:
Agence France-Presse: “Pakistani lawyers demand judges’ reinstatement”
ABAJournal.com: “Only 8 of 60 Ousted Pakistan Judges Return to Office; Lawyers Outraged”
