I share with you this letter written by Naeem Bukhari brought to my attention courtesy of an avid reader of this blog, Dr. Moeed Pirzada. I quote his message which I feel is self explanatory
I am posting here a recent article from Naeem Bokhari, after his thrashing by a group of lawyers inside the court room of Additional Sessions Judge. Since Mr. Bokhari’s action, of writing an open letter against the CJ was hotly debated, in your blog, it will be interesting to see what kind of reactions it ellicits now-given the fact that the events in Pakistan have moved full circle since then. If you will have any reservations in posting it, I will understand that, since most in media and legal community have conveniently ignored this development and I guess-sitting in London- that it is not kosher to discuss it. – Dr. Moeed Pirzada
I tend to agree with Dr. Pirzada it should be interesting to get the pulse of the nation in response to this letter written by Naeem Bukhari, since the dust has settled surrounding the CJP issues starting from his famous letter written in February 2007 and then as they say, the rest is history.
The News – Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Naeem BokhariI have read Nasim Zehra’s article in your newspaper under the caption “Thrashing Naeem Bokhari: ugly and vulgar”. As a target of the Rawalpindi Bar Lawyers’ fury and practical expression of their judicial activism, I thank Nasim Zehra for her column. However, to set the record straight, the facts are stated as follows.
The general secretary of the Rawalpindi Bar and a few others addressed the court while I was waiting at the rostrum for the opposing counsel. The first objection was that the Punjab Bar Council had cancelled my licence and I was therefore not entitled to argue. The judge was given a copy of the order dated 13.3.2007 in WP No. 2351 / 2007 by a judge of the Lahore High Court at its principal seat suspending that resolution. This order was rejected by the secretary of the Rawalpindi Bar as having been passed by a Shia judge, who according to another lawyer was a tout.
By this time, a larger crowed of young lawyers had collected both inside the courtroom and outside. Any person considered to be a friend of the president of Pakistan was declared to be a traitor. Abuses against the president and of course me, became more explicit. The additional district judge asked me to sit in the retiring room, whereupon he too was called a tout, corrupt and a pimp. Some of the lawyers were keen to lift me physically, undress me (‘nanga karo’) and then thrash me. A beating with my clothes on was not adequate for them.
Contrary to the report in the press, no senior lawyer restrained them at any point in time. The additional district judge wanted me to leave by the back door, but a group of lawyers gathered outside that door blocking the exit while continuing to hurl abuses.
Probably the naib qasid called the police. The SHO of the area arrived with a few police constables. A little later, two ASPs and thereafter the SSP arrived. The additional district judge also announced that he was not marking my presence nor was I going to argue the case. But this did not satisfy the mob of lawyers. They wanted my physical custody.
It was suggested that I should apologise. I wanted to know for what. My letter was a matter for which, I was and am answerable to the court, not to any mob. Another office-bearer of the Bar Association insisted that I should not be allowed to sit in the chambers of the judge. Thereupon I came out and sat in the courtroom. An advocate forcibly pushed me out of the chair and thereafter I was attacked inside the courtroom by several lawyers, most of whom I can identify by face. I was forcibly pushed out of the courtroom and hit on the head again and again. At some point, a bullet was fired. This parted the crowd and the SSP wrapped his arms around me and took me to the road to sit in a police van. In the police van, we were showered with bricks, stones, hot channas, spits and a constant barrage of abuses.
My associate Yousaf Anjum was also severely beaten. My coat was taken away. My shirt, which was torn along with my trousers were covered in oil and hot channas. The SSP also received an injury on his forehead, as well as many blows. To the police, I owe my life.
There were no ISI men in lawyers’ uniform. Lawyers had turned into a lynching mob. They did not act like lawyers but frenzied killers. I learnt quickly how blacks in America must have felt when the Klu Klux Klan lynched them.
The SHO Civil Lines, Rawalpindi, lent me a shirt and trousers. I was desperate to inform my wife that I was alive, knowing that TV channels would soon be informing their viewers of the incident. I had lumps all over my head, but except for the first two nights, when I had difficulty in putting my head on the pillow, there was no life-threatening injury.
I have no doubt in my mind that had the Pindi Bar lawyers succeeded in carrying me to the Bar Room, they would not only have stripped me, but caused fatal injuries. One female lawyer was as vocal as her male colleagues in wanting me beaten again and again. But for her short height, she would have landed blows on my head also. A former secretary of the Rawalpindi Bar when asked the reason for the anger of the lawyers, angrily retorted that did I not know what I had done. Another lawyer told me that since I was in their control, I would be dealt with in a way so as to be a lesson to others.
Nasim Zehra writes that it was ugly and vulgar. But should we be surprised? We are a society, where a person is stoned to death because of an alleged, not proved, behurmati of the Holy Quran, where a man and a woman are tied to a tree and stoned to death on suspicion of having illicit relations, where students break cars on New Year’s eve because they consider celebration of the New Year un-Islamic, where a cinema is burnt and property destroyed because a religious leader has been killed in Islamabad, where baton-wielding burqa-clad women kidnap foreigners, where even life in the capital is brought to a halt by gun-toting militants, where innocent people die on May 12 in Karachi, because both sides are adamant on showing street-power, where a judge is told to his face that he does not have a cause list but a rate list, where court decisions are predicted in advance and the court is threatened that a contrary result would not be accepted. Thrashing me pales into insignificance.
Given a chance, we can prove to anybody that we are a vulgar and ugly people. Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has co-authored a readable booklet with Lord Mehgnad Desai called ‘Why India is a democracy? Why Pakistan is not a democracy?”. The title of the book is slightly out of sync. It could have been “Why Pakistan cannot be a democracy”. The ballot or vote is only one element in democracy (very important though). All other factors and elements needed for democracy are conspicuous by their absence in the land of the pure.
Mr Jehangir A Jhoja, advocate, who has been President of Lahore High Court Bar was beaten. Arif Chaudhry, advocate Supreme Court was beaten inside the premises of the Supreme Court. Senator Dr Khalid Ranjha has been assaulted. Lawyers beat journalists in Karachi. Now it was my turn. Who will be next? What happened that day at Rawalpindi district court, because of the wrath of the lawyers, can happen to anybody. Deterioration and degeneration of conduct in public is all too apparent. No elections can cure this ailment.
My refusal to lodge an FIR was not because of any compassion for those who assaulted me, but because I have no faith that the court, which was not able to protect me inside the courtroom, would be able to ensure my safety to and from the court. The learned additional judge did not even consider it appropriate to forward a complaint of contempt to the High Court. Suo motu action in respect of the author of an open letter is asking for too much. I have received many, many calls even from people I do not know. I thank them and I thank Nasim Zehra.
Postscript: My coat hangs in Rawalpindi’s district bar; but for the police, it would have been my scalp.
The writer is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Comments
13 responses to “Assault on a Lawyer (Naeem Bukhari)”
I agree with Naeem Bukhari. The so-called educated lawyers are not so educated after all to behave like barbaric buffoons by physically attacking Naeem Bukhari.
Is the CJ God? Is he above being questioned and criticized?
I feel really sorry for Mr. Naeem bokhari but we all know our society.I agree that such sort of behavier is not acceptable and is not a sign of an educated society.
I personally am against Mr. NB for his controversial letter but i belieive in freedom of expression.But at the same time my question to him would be that why he kept himself quiet and no explaination whatsoever was given by him uptill now as for as my knowledge is concerned? Is he still thinks that he was right even after the denial of the senior lawyers mentioned in his famous letter?
As for the habits of the nation are concerned,no doubt the condition is more than worst but how Mr. NB will defend a president of a country with uniform and can expect democracy? and all the incidents mentioned in his letter are due to the socalled democracy of Mr Musharraf’s Govt.Isn’t it?????
And my advise to him would be “treat others as you wish to be treated yourself”.
Our memory is very short.Remind the behavier of the Generals with the Hon’able CJP in camp house and afterwords his house arrest for more than 4 days and later on the law enforcement agencies ‘s behavier with the Hon’able CJP.
It reflects the traits of us as a people – no matter who we are, we tend to show the same pathetic and barbaric response to anything not in our favor. To me, it is becoming increasingly obvious that YOU cannot take sides with anyone in power in Pakistan. If you think someone truly IS honest, and standing up for what is right … you might as well shoot yourself cuz it ain’t true! It has always been choosing the lesser of two(or more) evils, and the evils are becoming more apparent by the day. Sad!
NB or for that matter, say, an axe murderer was in the ‘court’ room that day…what transpired in the court house and court room is a matter for the CJP — to make sure it never happens in his watch of that of another CJP after him. He should call an enquiry and dispense swift justice. I believe justice must not be just done but must seen to be done. If he doesn’t do it, I believe the event had his tacit approval.
Naeem Bokhari is a broad minded person – a quality in short supply in Pakistan. I feel sorry for what he had to go through. I have always believed that the lawyers and the judiciary in Pakistan are corrupt. The recent events have proved that. I now feel that the word ‘goondas’ should be an added descriptive terminology for Pakistani lawyers.
This is sad. Regardless of his views, NB should not have been subjected to physical assault. BTW is this the same Naeem Bokhari who used to do TV shows?
Nothing is ever as it appear in Pakistan and that includes this letter. The real motive behind this letter is to malign the judiciary. Let me ask Naeem which agency wrote this very well argued letter? Is it the same agency that wrote his letter aganist CJP that was meant to prepare the grounds to get rid of an independent minded judge?
pride hath a fall
I Salute the dignity,honesty and courage of chief Justice Iftikhar chaudhay, He is the one, who for firt time in the history of pakistan, stood against the selfish, cruel, un-constituional dictator musharraf and his unlawfull acts taken by musharraf allies like in the cases like Missing person case, Steel mill reference. During his tenure he took thousands of su-moto notices, just to provide justice to people of Pakistan. He was, he is and he will be chief justice of pakistan. His stand against the dictator lead a great movement which have avoken the civel society and people of pakistan to understand and realise the intellenctual dishonesty of Musharaf
What Naeem Bukhari did was absolutely right. I support him fully and beating such a person can’t take away the qualities he have i have personally seen him and obseved him he is an extreme intelligent and down to earth person he made so many people lives better. He wrote this letter what he felt its all absurd he got nothing in return that person is stil living in a rented house in Islamabad. Naeem Bukhari believes in hard work, whatever he has done, its all his hard work. If anyone sees him on tv he is always prepared for what he has to ask and what he has to say. He is an extraordinary lawyer Pakistan have if anyone sees him in courts look at his presentation his knowledge about law his vocabulary everything. Why to defame such person who is an asset for this country. The persons who were involved in such conspiracy would have read this article (if they did they musn’t have such understanding capacity)its a shame for them. We should be proud of such personality he is a senior lawyer one should learn from not to beat him up. That guy was courageous enough to expose the truth who is iftikhar chaudhry what is iftikhar chaudhry i don’t need to go in details but whatever happened to Naeem Bukhari was a shameful act.
pay my tribute to those lawyers who make share in beating bukhari….i think when we the nation can not stop the mushraf to beat iftikhar ch. than y we can stop lawyers to beat real culprit
Mr. Naeem Bokhari is indeed a brilliant lawyer and he would always be respected for his bold stand against rude, crude, uncouth, discourteous and protocol hungry Chief Justice of Pakistan namely Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Unfortunately an equally brilliant lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan made a hero out of Iftikhar Chaudhry by orchestrating a stage drama of lawyers movement inorder to gain political ground against Musharraf while settling his scores with Asif Zardari who had sidelined talented Aitzaz. It is high time that Aitzaz Ahsan should be given an important position in Pakistan Peoples Party as early as possible lest he succeeds in picking another hero from the jurassic park of violent community of lawyers created by the Americans to destabilize Pakistan for its eventual denuclearization. Our nation has great expectations from Mr. Naeem Bokhari and it seems that he will succeed in bringing about the removal of Iftikhar Chaudhry from the office of Chief Justice of Pakistan for the third and final time through his daring advocacy skills in PCO Judges case. Keep it up Mr. Naeem Bokhari. May Allah be with you.
It is very late in the day but at the time when this happened I let the lawyers know that they should have been the last people to take the law in their own hands. That conduct was despicable. Any way I was looking for your letter to the CJ that became the cause of so much political turmoil in the country when I saw marriage pictures of your son. Congratulations. 8th June 2011 Houston, Tx