PESHAWAR – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has declared a province wide court boycott to protest the alleged brutal torture of a lawyer in Matta, Swat district, and the police department’s “indifferent and irresponsible” handling of the matter.The boycott will be observed tomorrow, August 11, 2025, according to a statement issued by the Bar Council.
The statement detailed that on July 28, 2025, senior member of the Matta Bar Association, Advocate Shahid Ali, was allegedly subjected to severe physical abuse by police inside Matta Police Station.He was reportedly beaten, unlawfully detained for four hours, and released in a severely injured condition.
Following directives from the Peshawar High Court, the District and Sessions Judge constituted an inquiry committee.The committee recommended the immediate suspension and transfer of the Station House Officer (SHO) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) implicated in the incident.It also called for impartial investigations into the petition filed by lawyers under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code and legal proceedings against the responsible police personnel.
However, the Bar Council noted that none of these recommendations have been implemented to date.It further stated that a request by a delegation of lawyers to meet the Inspector General of Police KP was declined.
Warning of escalated action, the Bar Council said that if their demands are not met, a more stringent plan of protest will be launched, with details to be announced in the next council meeting.
