SIALKOT: The situation was extremely tense in Daska tehsil of Sialkot district on Monday as protests by lawyers turned violent after a police SHO killed two lawyers including the president of the local bar association.

Protests erupted in several cities following the killing of Rana Khalid Abbas, the president of the Daska bar association, and lawyer Irfan Chauhan in Daska earlier today.

According to latest reports, charged demonstrators in Daska had set the office of the Deputy Superintendent (DSP) on fire.

Lawyers in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Multan also staged protests against the killing of their colleagues in Sialkot, with television footage showing some protestors resorting to attacks on police personnel and vehicles.

Meanwhile, a large number of lawyers demonstrated outside the Punjab Assembly building in Lahore in protest against the killings.

In Multan, furious lawyers broke the glass windows of a police mobile van as members of the People’s Lawyers Forum demonstrated at Kachehri Chowk. Similar scenes were witnessed in Faisalabad and Gujranwala as lawyers clashed with police personnel.

The Islamabad District Bar and High Court Bar associations have announced a boycott of court proceedings across the country tomorrow to register their protest. The Islamabad Bar Association has demanded immediate resignation from Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif.

The lawyers have also demanded neutral investigation into the incident.

According to reports, the incident started when the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Daska city police station and members of the legal fraternity led by Daska bar association president Rana Khalid Abbas in Daska.

The clash turned fatal when shots were allegedly fired by the police officer, which severely injured the bar association president and another lawyer Irfan Chauhan. Both injured lawyers succumbed to their wounds.

DPO Asif Shahzad said things turned violent when police tried to stop the group of lawyers who were “rioting” in the tehsil’s Municipal Administration Office. He said that following a confrontation, the SHO fired the shots which severely injured three lawyers including the bar association president.

Later, infuriated lawyers blocked traffic at Civil Chowk by burning tires and hurling stones at policemen. Law enforcers responded by firing teargas shells against the violent protestors.

Shahzad said that the SHO who fired the shots has been taken into custody