“Demands removal of DG MDA from office”
Altaf Hameed Rao
MIRPUR [AJK]: Several of local lawyers here on Wednesday staged ‘Dharna’ at central Shaheed Chowk at the second leg of their indefinite pen-down strike to press the AJK Government for early acceptance of their demands including the removal of DG MDA from the office office for the alleged thrashing of one of their senior colleagues and an ex Mirpur DBA President Tabassam Sadiq Advocate by the MDA staffers with the assistance of Mirpur District Administration during an operation for removal of the alleged encroachment in local housing sector a couple of weeks ago.
DBA President Shabir Shareef Advocate, President AJK High Court Bar Association Razaq Kashmiri Advocate, Gen. Secy. AJK Supreme Court Bar Association Mian Sultan Mahmood Advocate, Gen. Secy. DBA Madassar Iqbal Advocate and other office bearers of the District Bar Association led the protestant lawyers while staging the token ‘sit-in’ at the central Shaheed chowk.
The demonstrating lawyers earlier took out a procession from the district courts premises by boycotting the courts – the 10th successive day Wednesday, raising slogans in support of their demands.
Supporting the local lawyers protest strike, the AJK Supreme Court Bar Association as well as AJK High Court Bar Association had announced to join the local lawyers protest till the acceptance of their demands.
Several of the AJK SCBA and AJK HCBA members also observed complete day-long strike through boycotting the courts in support of the Mirpur Lawyers indefinite pen-down strike in support of their demands including the major demand of the removal of Mirpur Development Authority`s Director General Ch.Ejaz Raza from the office for the alleged thrashing of one of their elderly colleagues and an ex Mirpur DBA President Tabassam Sadiq Advocate by the MDA staffers with the assistance of Mirpur District Administration.
At the same time the local lawyers boycotted the courts the third consecutive day here on Wednesday to press AJK government for early acceptance of their demands including immediate removal of the DG MDA from the office for the alleged manhandling of one of their senior colleagues Tabassam Sadiq Advocate by the anti-encroachment staff of the MDA with the assistance of Mirpur District Administration during, what they observed, the unwarranted demolishing of his “legally“ constructed residential building in local housing sector F-3 Part – III,on Saturday (Dec. 2) last.
Both premier representative forums of the AJK legal fraternity – the AJK Supreme Court Bar Association and AJK High Court jumped in to support the lawyers protest warning the AJK government of dire consequences in case of non acceptance of the charter of demands tabled by Mirpur district bar association to the authorities in the light of the resolutions passed by the DBA on Wednesday.
Local protesting lawyers brought out a procession to express their indignation against Saturday`s alleged manhandling of the elderly advocate Tabassam Sadiq Advocate by the MDA Staffers with the help of the local administration during an operation for the demolishing of the alleged encroachment erected by the Advocate Tabassam.
The furious lawyers raised slogans against the DG MDA for misusing powers through hurriedly launching the operation for a lawfully constructed residential building of the senior lawyer Tabassam Sadiq and that too in haste without going through the due prior investigations in to the matter.
Earlier addressing the participants of the sit-in, the unruly lawyers including DBA President Shabir Shareef Advocate, President AJK High Court Bar Association Razaq Ahmed Kashmiri Advocate, Secretary General AJK Supreme Court Bar Association Mian Sultan Mahmood Advocate, Azeem Dutt Advocate, Aziz Ahmed Pothi Advocate and others reiterated to continue protest through boycott of courts till the acceptance of their especially the major demand of removal of the DG MDA Ejaz Raza from the office.
The lawyers’ leaders also bitterly criticized the local district administration for facilitating the operation against, what they called the residential house of Tabassam Sadiq Advocate on the legally allotted plot in MDA-controlled residential sector F-3 Part-3 – in haste allegedly on the telephonic orders of the AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan.
It may be added that Mirpur police have booked 250 lawyers including Secretary General of Mirpur DBA Madassar Iqbal Advocate registering case against them on the charges of thrashing two police officers including Sub Inspector Aatif Azeem and a constable besides for attacking the Deputy Commissioner Office Mirpur during an abortive attempt of making gehrao of the DC Office during the violent demonstration against Mirpur Development Authority and the local district administration here on Monday last.
Police remained after the accused lawyers allegedly involved in the manhandling of the police officers during their duties – but no arrest was reported till last reports came in.