Lawyers in Islamabad on Monday forcibly shut down district courts as well as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as they went berserk over bulldozing of their chambers built on footpaths and parking areas by the capital administration, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The protesting lawyers also barred the entry of litigants in the IHC premises besides bringing traffic on the adjacent Service Road to a halt.
The situation became so tense that Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat had to reach Islamabad High Court to monitor the situation.
The lawyers also shouted slogans against IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah restricting the latter to his chamber.
Strangely, there was no presence of Special Security Police personnel at the time of lawyers’ entry in Chief Justice’s Block. In fact, the personnel arrived at the scene quite late, resulting in the exit of female staff from the Block due to heightened insecurity.
The protestors refused to talk to the administration until their chambers were rebuilt.
Meanwhile, the anti-encroachment operation is underway in and around District and Session Court on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The authorities razed to the ground more structures built illegally at the court’s premises on late Sunday night.
The lawyers also threatened to block the Srinagar Highway in case their demands were not met.