Editoral-A law unto themselves

It is unfortunate that a community that won public admiration during the 2007 lawyers’ movement for its efforts to restore the deposed judiciary should now be drawing criticism because of the irresponsible behaviour of some of its members. From the 2008 beating up of a former federal law minister in Lahore to subsequent incidents of thrashing policemen in Lahore and Islamabad, the behaviour of a number of lawyers has gone far beyond what is socially acceptable. Their actions have been tantamount to a wilful defiance of the law and violation of human rights.

In the latest incident which occurred on the premises of the Lahore High Court, a group of lawyers, including a senior member of the Lahore Bar Association, beat up a policeman who was acting in response to a court decision to reject a suspected murderer’s bail application. By beating up the policeman, not only were the lawyers obstructing the law-enforcement force from performing its function, they were also disobeying the court’s decision by helping the accused to escape.

In another recent incident in Islamabad, lawyers vented their anger on senior policemen by beating them and ransacking their offices after the authorities demolished the chambers of some members of the Islamabad Bar Association as they were built on encroached land. It is ironic that the role of lawyers as defenders of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution should now be in serious doubt because the legal fraternity appears to have a growing predilection for unruly behaviour. The lawyers’ movement may have given the judiciary new strength. But the success of the legal community should not lead to arrogance of the sort we are witnessing today. Senior members should actively rein in their errant brethren before they cause greater harm to their own image and to that of their profession.

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