Bar Associations in India and Pakistan Threaten Protests Over Grievances

Bar bodies in India's Punjab and Haryana region have agreed to suspend a month‑long strike against the Legal Defence Counsel System (LADCS) and will resume judicial work from August 3 after meetings with acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and a planned discussion with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The lawyers had protested the scheme, claiming it created a parallel, state‑funded defence system that threatened independent advocacy.

In Pakistan, the Lahore High Court Bar Association warned the Punjab provincial government to release overdue staff funds within 15 days, threatening to surround the Punjab Assembly and the Chief Minister’s Office if the demand is not met. President Babar Murtaza Khan also highlighted a shortage of judges and benches, proposed cutting the judiciary’s summer vacation, called for a special commission to investigate alleged human‑rights abuses by Indian forces in Kashmir, and announced a doubling of membership fees to address financial shortfalls.