Lawyers boycott courts to protest judicial magistrate’s abduction

QUETTA: Members of legal fraternity on Wednesday boycott courts in Balochistan to protest against the kidnapping of Judicial Magistrate Ziarat. Balochistan High Court Bar Association and Balochistan Bar Association had given the call of strike to mount pressure on the authorities to ensure the unhurt recovery of kidnapped law officer. Armed militants had kidnapped Judicial Magistrate Ziarat, Jam Saka Dashti from Pishin district of the province on Monday. “Militants picked up Saka when he was coming back from Ziarat to Quetta,” the Deputy Commissioner Pishin, Bashir Ahmed Bazai told Dawn.com via telephone. Lawyers did not appear in courts in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan throughout the day as part of ongoing protest against the kidnapping of judicial magistrate. “The government has left the judges and lawyers at the mercy of kidnappers and target killers,” Baz Muhammad Kakar, the lawyer leader told Dawn.com. Clients remained the worst sufferers of the lawyers’ boycott and waited for many hours for the arrival of their counsels. "Some elements want to stop independent role of judiciary in the country,” Kakar stated. Home Secretary Balochistan, Akbar Hussain Durrani told Dawn.com that forces were conducting raids in different parts of the area to recover the kidnapped magistrate. He said so far no suspect was detained in connection with the kidnapping. There has been no claim of responsibility for the abduction and the authorities appear to be clueless about the whereabouts of the magistrate. This incident has come two weeks after the gunmen stormed inside the office of Sakhi Sultan Advocate, the Judge of Environmental Tribunal in Quetta. Sultan was killed on the spot inside the office. Lawyers have been on constant protest since the cold-blood murder.