Lawyers in Islamabad on Monday violently protested the demolition of their chambers by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at the Islamabad judicial complex.
A mob of lawyers smashed windows in the Chief Justice block, chanting slogans outside the IHC Chief Justice’s office.
The CDA had on Sunday night demolished illegal chambers set up by lawyers in the premises of the district and sessions court in Islamabad.
Sources say the Special Security Unit was not present when the lawyers started their protest.
Officers from the Islamabad police arrived at the scene after a long time, the sources said.
IHC CJ Athar Minallah was reportedly forced to confine himself to his chamber as the violence unfolded.
The protesting lawyers chanted slogans against the IHC CJ, while journalists and several protesters clashed when the journalists tried to record footage of the hooliganism on display.
The entrances to the IHC have since been closed since 10 am, the sources said, adding that lawyers and clerks have been barred from entering, and the service road leading to the court premises has been closed.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kyani had offered the lawyers to sit in the bar room, saying their problems will not be solved till they were willing to sit and talk.
He had asked the protesting lawyers to remove their colleagues from the chamber of the IHC CJ so they could talk.
If the lawyers feel they have been abused, they should sit down and tell us, he said.
