Police banned from entering all 43 districts and 170 tehsil bars across Punjab

The Punjab Bar Council on Wednesday announced a ban on police entry in all 43 districts and 170 tehsil bar colleges across the province following the murders of two lawyers – Mr Muhammad Zeeshan Dhudhi Vehari and Mehr Muhammad Munir Sadhana, a lawyer and former president of Jhang District Bar Council.

In an official statement, the president of the Bar Association said that police would not be allowed to enter the bar premises until further notice. He also called for the registration of cases against the suspects under the Lawyers Protection Act, a law that provides specific procedural protections for lawyers and prescribes harsher penalties in cases involving violence or intimidation against lawyers.

Read: Lawyers boycott courts over adjustments

Lawyers across the province are protesting that the suspects are yet to be arrested despite repeated appeals to the Punjab Police and IG Punjab. The Bar Council’s call for a province-wide strike in the district courts also remained in force. According to the statement, courts were asked not to issue “adverse orders” during the boycott, a term generally used within the legal system to refer to ex parte or criminal orders issued in the absence of counsel.

A protest meeting is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. regarding the killings, where members are expected to push for quick arrests and stricter enforcement of protections for lawyers.

As part of the protest, police officers and investigation teams have been banned from bars and court premises. Lawyers boycott court proceedings, leading to suspension of hearings in thousands of cases. In Rawalpindi Division alone, 14,695 cases could not be heard in district and tehsil courts.

On Wednesday, Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Amjad Ali Shah arrived at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association to give a lecture on anti-terror laws without his police security team, in compliance with the council’s ban. He said, “I left my entire police security team at the court and have come here alone, without security. I don’t feel any danger here. As a lawyer, I am also a member of the Punjab Bar Council and I am proud of it.”

Read more: Lawyers announce protest against growing wave of targeted attacks

Punjab Bar Council Vice President Ashfaq Kahut and Executive Committee Chairman Zubairullah Nagra, after a special protest meeting, said that the killings were carried out in an extremely brutal manner and called for quick arrest of the suspects. “Peaceful protest is a constitutional and legal right of lawyers. Our protest will continue until the suspects are arrested and cases are registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Lawyers Protection Act,” they said.

Lawyers marched through the district courts chanting slogans such as “lawyers will not tolerate terrorism.” By 11am, all district and tehsil courts in Rawalpindi division were empty, reflecting the full impact of the strike and judicial boycott.

Lawyers also expressed their anguish over the killings on online platforms, including X.

Rawalpindi District Bar Association President Sardar Manzar Bashir and Secretary Malik Asad Mahmood addressed the gathering and said: “The black coat is our symbol of honor and we will not allow ourselves to be disrespected. We are lawyers first, before members of any political party. The killers of lawyers must be arrested. Until the arrests are made, the strike and protest will continue.”