Lawyers protest in Islamabad against appointments of SC judges

ISLAMABAD: Lawyers held a protest demonstration in Islamabad on Monday against the upcoming appointment of eight judges to the Supreme Court by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

The legal community of Islamabad came out to raise slogans against appointment of judges from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Peshawar High Court (PHC) and Sindh High Court (SHC) to the apex court, while neglecting senior judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The lawyers were also protesting against today’s meeting of the Judicial Commission – scheduled for 2 PM – for the appointments while the review appeals cases against the 26^th Constitutional Amendment are still ongoing.

Earlier this month, lawyers in Islamabad also held a strike against the appointments and the Judicial Commission’s meeting.

However, on Monday afternoon, the lawyer community announced to call of the protest. Islamabad High Court Bar President Riyasat Ali Azad made the announcement.

PROTEST EVENTS

On Monday morning, the capital city police and lawyers clashed at Serena Chowk in Islamabad. The protestors attempted to enter the red zone – which is barred for all protests, as seen before in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests as well.

Earlier in the morning, the capital authorities had placed containers to block Serena Chowk.