IHC Judge Criticises Lawyers’ Strike Over Arrest of Imaan Mazari, Husband

ISLAMABAD:Islamabad High Court Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Tuesday strongly criticised the lawyers’ strike called against the arrest of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha.

During court proceedings, Justice Kayani remarked that the court had been informed no lawyer appeared due to a strike and questioned the reason behind it. In response, Barrister Khush Bakht told the court that the strike was being observed to protest the arrest of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha.

Justice Kayani remarked that the very lawyers who had facilitated their arrest were now observing a strike. “They themselves send people to jail and then call for a strike,” he said.

Expressing strong displeasure, the judge further remarked that the bar association seemed to deserve a medal, sarcastically stating that judges were being declared incompetent and courts had become ‘dead’. He added that the bar itself had taken both individuals to jail and that a judge had passed an extraordinary decision without due legal process.