Agencies now threatening Lawyers?

This piece of ominous news appeared in The Nation's leader page.

Can things get much worse? I suppose they can if these people actually carry out what they threaten to do.

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Lawyers threatened

THE Chief Justice’s Defence lawyers’, Munir A Malik and Muhammad Ali Kurd’s disclosure of the threats the two have been receiving, allegedly from the agencies, is rather chilling. “Different agencies are threatening me to take back my name from Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s panel. They threatened me about my children and also asked about my daughter’s school.”

The lawyers allege that the agencies have been threatening them for the withdrawal of their names from the panel representing the CJ in the reference against him, threats that would aggravate the current situation exponentially if acted out upon even slightly. The issue of the missing persons lies in the backdrop of the current judicial crisis. The lawyer community knows that when they receive threats from these quarters, they are to be taken seriously. As it is, quite a mess has been created in the country due to the extra-curricular operations of the intelligence agencies. They are a loose cannon that keeps diverting from their actual mission statement. This behaviour of theirs has been a malignant problem; a Damocle’s sword that is not conducive to the establishment of genuine democracy in the country.

In this specific case, they are also not conducive to the judicial process that has ensued with the reference. The CJ, along with his counsel, should be given due protection. This action further reinforces the image of injustice that recent events hold for the general public. The powers that be had better call the intelligence agencies off if they are actually serious about justice being served.

Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan