Lawyers in Kashmir continue to boycott court

Srinagar, Nov 24: Lawyers in Kashmir boycotted courts for the second consecutive day today in protest against a grenade attack on Bar President and senior counsel Mian Abdul Qayoom on Wednesday.

The Kashmir Bar Association (KBA) had condemned in strongest terms the assassination bid on its president and decided to strike work in all courts in protest for two days.

KBA Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Bhat said it would soon be decided whether to approach the state government for seeking adequate security for Mian Qayoom. The Bar would discuss this ''important and serious'' issue with other organisations before approaching the state government, he added.

However, Mr Bhat said Mian Qayoom was not in favour of getting security from the state.

The KBA President escaped a bid on his life when unidentified men threw a grenade on his car near his residence at Barzulla here on Wednesday evening.

This was the second assassination attempt on Mian Qayoom as he was shot at and wounded by unknown gunmen in mid 1990s. He was also detained by the state government under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for two years in 1990.

UNI