More than a hundred lawyers on Tuesday attacked and ransacked the office of Assistant Commissioner (AC) Sialkot Sonia Sadaf, after accusing her of supporting the land grab mafia. The AC had recently overseen the demolition of a property during an anti-encroachment drive in Mohalla Prem Nagar. The lawyers claimed that the AC was supporting the occupation mafia and had acted in violation of stay order by a court.
The police registered a case against the lawyers under sections 440/341 and 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Naib Tehsildar Amir Adnan. The complainant said that around 100 lawyers had forcefully entered the office of the AC and thrown out the furniture. He also presented the police with video footage of the incident. After attacking the office, the lawyers gathered at Kachehri Chowk and raised slogans, using obscene language against the AC.
People reacted to the news on social media as videos of the incident went viral. One user wrote “When does this stop? What is the limit that they’ll cross after which this barbaric mafia will be curtailed?”, while talking about the lawyers’ behaviour.
Office of Assistant Commissioner Sialkot ransacked by lawyers. When does this stop? What is the limit that they’ll cross after which this barbaric mafia will be curtailed? Or is it already too late. #Sialkot #SoniaSadaf#BlacksheepsinBlackCoats pic.twitter.com/VipJRJxyqp
— Aqsa Younas (@AqsaYounasRana) November 16, 2021
Another user lamented the irony of the law being broken by those who should protect it.
Wakeels be like, 'hum kya molviyoon say kam hain ?' Unfortunately, education has failed to make an impact here. We, ordinary citizens looks toward these idiots for justice & they seem to be the worst law breakers. They should be punished harder.#WakeelGardi#SoniaSadaf#Sialkot pic.twitter.com/jwoIQ62X3B
— Juliett Alfa Whisky Alfa Delta (@koolchoudhry) November 16, 2021
The Assistant Commissioner was not present in her office when the incident took place.
This is not the first time that lawyers have engaged in such hooliganism. Back in 2019, lawyers attacked the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. The lawyers, at the time, closed the entry and exit point of the hospital as a result of which 3 patients died. And earlier this year, lawyers attacked the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and laid siege to the office of Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
