19/08/2026
After the tragic killing of another lawyer / our colleague, condemnation, strike and participation in the funeral are understandable (انا للہ و انا الیہ راجعون), but the Bar’s responsibility must go beyond symbolic reactions.
Is the responsibility of Bar representatives limited to issuing condemnation after a lawyer has been killed, observing a strike, and attending the funeral?
It is time to move beyond symbolic reactions and demand meaningful, permanent, and practical action.The killing of a lawyer is not merely the loss of an individual. It is an attack on the legal profession, the rule of law, and the sense of security of the entire legal fraternity. But we must also understand that a murder is often preceded by threats, intimidation, harassment, violence, or an attempted assassination. A lawyer who survives an assassination attempt is not less deserving of protection simply because he survived. The fact that the bullet missed its target does not make the attack less serious. On the contrary, it is a warning that the threat is real and that the next attempt could be fatal. Therefore, we demand that Bar representatives act beyond condemnation and strikes.
The Bar's responsibility should not begin only when a lawyer's life has already been taken. It should begin when a lawyer is threatened, attacked, harassed, intimidated, or subjected to an assassination attempt. We demand the establishment of a permanent and effective mechanism within the Bar to deal with:
* Murder of lawyers;
* Attempted murder and assassination attempts;
* Terrorist attacks and violent attacks against lawyers;
* Serious threats and intimidation;
* Harassment and targeted attacks;
* Threats to the families of lawyers where circumstances warrant protection.
Whenever such an incident occurs, the matter must not simply be left to the local police and forgotten with the passage of time. A senior Bar committee should immediately take responsibility for monitoring the case, maintaining regular contact with the affected lawyer and his family, communicating with the investigating authorities, following the investigation, and ensuring that the matter reaches its lawful conclusion. The Bar should also demand accountability from the relevant authorities where investigations are delayed, compromised, or ineffective. A lawyer should not become entitled to institutional protection only after he has lost his life. Our Bar representatives must protect lawyers while they are alive, while they are working, and while they are standing in the line of duty. We therefore call upon the Bar leadership to transform this tragedy into a *permanent policy for the protection of lawyers*, rather than allowing it to become another cycle of:
Condemnation → Strike → Funeral → Silence → Another Attack → Another Condemnation.
The Bar must act now, before the next bullet, not after the next funeral.
