KARACHI: In a rare expression of solidarity with the bench, lawyers of Karachi continued their boycott of court proceedings for the third consecutive day here yesterday in protest over kidnapping of Owais Ali Shah, son of Chief Justice Sindh Sajjad Ali Shah.
City Courts Complex, Sindh High Court, Malir Bar remain deserted and similar news came from other parts of Sindh where lawyers community decided to keep away from courts.
At Sindh High Court, the bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi was the first today to discharge the cases fixed before it for hearing including Customs and Tax matters followed by bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.
It is worth mentioning here that Sindh Bar Council’s Honorary Secretary, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed only a month back suggested that court shall not discharge cases over the death of lawyers and instead work for the whole day. He suggested that at the end of the days work, the bar and the bench gather together in bar association and pray for the departed soul (s). This suggestion was widely welcomed and approved in view of hardship to the litigants due to adjournment of hundreds of cases on a single day.
Owais Shah was kidnapped on Monday from a super store and till date he could not be traced or recovered despite frantic efforts by the Karachi police and other law enforcers. SBC yesterday gave an ultimatum of a week to the administration to recover the abductee or face agitation on streets.
A clueless Sindh government has announced a reward money of rupees 10 million for any credible information leading to the recovery.