Pakistan lawyers clash with riot police

PAKISTAN: Thousands of lawyers clashed with baton-wielding riot police during a nationwide day of action Monday in Pakistan against the sacking of the country’s top judge, witnesses said.

Dozens of people were hurt during the turmoil in the eastern city of Lahore, sparked by military ruler President Pervez Musharraf’s suspension Friday of chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on misconduct charges.

Witnesses said around 3,000 lawyers wearing smart black suits and chanting “Down with Musharraf” dismantled barriers in an attempt to stage a sit-in outside the Lahore High Court building.

Police broke up the rally with truncheons and at least 20 lawyers were wounded, including senator Latif Khosa of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party and his son, said local bar council president Mohammad Ahsan Dhoon.

The riot police, with helmets, padded protective gear and plastic shields, used their batons to hit some lawyers. One lawyer was seen with blood streaming from a head wound.

Two lawyers were sent to hospital, one with a broken nose and the other with a head injury, while more than 50 received treatment at the Lahore High Court dispensary, doctor Irfan Elahi said.

In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, some 500 lawyers wearing black armbands torched portraits of Musharraf and blocked traffic outside the city’s courts before dispersing peacefully, witnesses said.

Advocates boycotted the Supreme Court in Islamabad while lawyers also stayed away from courts in towns across central Punjab province and in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Lahore, Tuesday, AFP