The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a detailed verdict against encroachments and illegal constructions and ordered the removal of all encroachments including the illegal chambers of the lawyers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
The four-member bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued a 30-page detailed verdict.
“Islamabad District Bar’s lawyers’ allotments at Football Ground or any other place are illegal,” the IHC said.
“All the lawyers which were allotted the illegal chambers, even they don’t have the right to construct chambers on state land. We are confident that Islamabad Bar members will revive the Football Ground removing the chambers,” the verdict stated.
The court directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the federal government to revive the Football Ground in F-8 for the people by March 23.
The CDA has also been directed to present a plan for allocating five acres of land to the Islamabad District Bar lawyers and also directed the federal government to construct the District Complex without any delay. The court said it hoped the District Complex would be operational before Youm-e-Pakistan on March 23.
The court also ordered arranging a football match at the Football Ground among the teams of public schools on Pakistan Day in remembrance of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The verdict stated that the lawyers’ role in society is always unusual and unique and lawyers are the guardians of the country’s Constitution.
It is pertinent to note that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) witnessed a dark day on February 8 after it was stormed and damaged by angry lawyers protesting the demolition of their chambers by the city’s civic authority.
The violent lawyers laid siege to the courtroom and the chamber of IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, virtually keeping him hostage for about three hours. They barged into the offices of the secretary to the IHC chief justice and his auxiliary staff, broke windows and even doors of the Chief Justice Block.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) in a statement condemned the lawyers' attack on the Islamabad High Court (IHC).