Sher Afgan faces lawyers' wrath
Amir Riaz
LAHORE-
Former Federal Law Minister Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi, a die-hard supporter of President Pervez Musharraf, faced the worst kind of humiliation at the hands of lawyers on Tuesday as he was hit with shoes, stones, rotten eggs, tomatoes and lashed on the face after he was taken out from an Advocate’s house where he remained detained for five hours because hundreds of lawyers laid a siege around the building.
Angry lawyers tore his clothes, shattered windowpanes of the ambulance in which Dr. Afgan was being taken away from the site of the incident that brought cut on his body.
As Dr. Afgan was trying to get into the ambulance one of the lawyers caught hold of his collar and dragged him into the vehicle. He was literally laid on the floor of the vehicle to be saved from the furious lawyers who had stormed the van from all sides.
Aitzaz Ahsan, President Supreme court Bar Association, rushed to the place to control the situation and disperse the lawyers. He, however, failed to calm down the enraged lawyers and rescue Dr. Afgan because the lawyers paid no heed to his request. Although , Aitzaz had asked the enraged lawyers and other persons to leave the place, they continued to wait for Dr.Afgan to come out.
Later, Dr. Afgan came out of the building escorted by Aitzaz Ahsan and police. Struggling through the crowd they took Niazi to an Edhi ambulance with the help of police.
The lawyers pounced on Dr. Afgan and subjected him to severe torture by throwing shoes and stones on him.
They continued to make efforts to get into the vehicle and in the process
they badly damaged Edhi ambulance, broke down its windowpanes and threw shoes on Dr. Afgan who was lying on the floor. Niazi received a cut on his body by the sharp-edged parts of broken windowpanes that fell on his body.
As ambulance started moving as the lawyers blocked its way. Aitzaz Ahsan mounted the rooftop of the vehicle, which was then driven slowly away from the crowd.
The lawyers and other people present at the place chased the ambulance and threw stones on it. Some stones also hit Aitzaz which irked him.
He stood up on the rooftop, begged lawyers to let Dr. Afgan go safely. Failing to control his colleagues he announced to step down as President SCBA by saying that lawyers have caused irreparable loss to lawyers movement and Chief Justice’s cause.
The police present at the scene failed to create a safe passage for Dr. Afgan and he remained confined in the office for about five hours. The police played the role of silent spectator for most of the time.
The entire drama started when Niazi visited the office of his relative Malik Noor Muhammad Awan Advocate situated in Farah Center at Mozang Road to have consultation on a legal issue. The news spread like wild fire in the area because the building is surrounded by hundreds of lawyers chambers and situated few yards away from the Lahore High Court.
Hundreds of lawyers gathered outside the building that had only one entrance point that is also used as exit point. They also blocked the road that caused the suspension of traffic for five hours.
The lawyers burst into full-throated slogans against Pervez Musharraf and Afgan Niazi. The air was echoed with slogans of ‘Go Musharraf Go’, ‘Niazi is our criminal’.
With the passage of time, the number of lawyers swelled and they refused to let him go safely. They cordoned off the office of Malik Awan who sought the help of Presidents LHCBA Anwar Kamal and LBA Manzoor Qadir to control the situation but all in vain because the
lawyers were adamant to take revenge on Dr. Afgan who they blamed on using abusive language against legal community and termed him a traitor to their movement.
Ch. Aitzaz was called there as a last resort because the situation had gone out of control. Soon after reaching the place,
Aitzaz asked the lawyers to leave the place and requested media persons, particularly of electronic media, to switch off their cameras because he thought that this move would help disperse lawyers and bring Dr. Afgan out safely.
The lawyers by raising hands promised Aitzaz that they would not misbehave with Dr. Afgan and let him go for their noble cause of judges restoration.
Aitzaz also asked the police officers to cordon off Sher Afghan and take him away in their safe custody. Police brought an ambulance and tried to take him away in the van but lawyers attacked Sher Afghan as soon he appeared from the office. They freely used kicks and fists and badly tortured him.
Finally he was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Earlier, a bunch of lawyers also exchanged harsh words with the police official as well their bars’ office bearers when the latter asked them to leave the place.
A lawyer asked SP Ahsan Younis,’you have arrived to save Dr.Afgan in no time but where were you when the police subjected lawyers to the torture inside the Lahore High Court on November 5 last year’.
‘Afgan deserved this treatment because he had humiliated our Chief Justice time and again’, said another angry lawyer.
Some lawyers also declined the requests of Lahore High Court Bar Association Anwar Kamal and Lahore Bar Association Manzoor Qadir to go to their offices.
They were demanding that they would leave the place only if Dr. Afgan is brought out and they would blacken his face with ink.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against dozens of people including lawyers in the Mozang police for torturing and manhandling the former Federal Minister Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi on Tuesday.
A police source claimed that the FIR was registered on the complaint of the SHO Mozang police.
The CCPO Lahore said that police was not on fault as it has played its positive role and rescued Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi despite the fact that his schedule to visit Lahore was not in the knowledge of the City police.
Police gave quick response to the incident and took the former Federal Minister to a safe place, he said ,adding, that no cop was suspended after the untoward incident.
The Nation
