Lawyer-police contention: Lawyer seeks case against police for his arrest, beating

Advocate Muhammad Nawaz said he had heard a lot of noise near his residence and gone to investigate. He said he found SHO Faisal Sharif, Sub-Inspector Iqbal and other police officials beating up some women.

Nawaz said when he asked the SHO about the incident, he was beaten up as well. He said his colleague Advocate Muhammad Tariq tried to pacify the SHO but was arrested. Nawaz said police took them to the police station along with the women. Nawaz said that when he asked why they had been arrested the SHO forcibly removed their clothes too, and SI Iqbal made a video of their condition.

Nawaz asked the court to direct senior police officials to register a case against the Kahna police. He also alleged that he and Tariq had been falsely implicated in a gambling case because of this incident.

Police said they had conducted a raid to arrest some gamblers, including lawyers Tariq and Nawaz. Police said they resisted and attacked police officials. They also detained Head Constable Rashid Ali and injured him. More police was called and the lawyers and others were arrested.

Kahna ASP Syed Qrar Hussain Shah told The Express Tribune that Nawaz’s allegations were false. He said lawyers were using their traditional tactics to humiliate the police. He said the lawyers had attacked the police first and snatched their guns. He said the head constable was still in General Hospital due to his injuries.

Lahore Bar Association representatives had to assure the Operations DIG and District and Sessions Judge Syed Hamid Hussain Shah on Thursday that no lawyers would beat up police officials when their colleagues, Tariq and Nawaz, were produced before the court and more than a hundred police officials were posted to maintain order on the occasion.

Tariq and Nawaz were produced before a magistrate and discharged.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2014.