Nothing about Pakistan should surprise us any more. This country was founded by a lawyer who would have been ashamed and appalled to see the behavior of lawyers today. A couple of days back, the Islamabad High Court was ransacked by lawyers protesting against the demolition of their chambers (which had been built on encroached land). A few days ago, something similar happened in Lahore. And before that, lawyers attacked a hospital in Lahore, resulting in the instantaneous death of at least one patient, and some more in the days following the incident.
But what I'll never forget is how lawyers embraced a convicted, cold-blooded murderer (Mumtaz Qadri) in court. Today, the killer's shrine is visited by not only lawyers but also government ministers, one of whom (the uncouth Fayyaz Chohan of Lahore) sings religious songs on his death anniversary.
Of course it was inevitable, we should have realized this after the nationalization of education by Bhutto, who was himself a very learned lawyer. But then, he wanted to give employment to his party cadres, just as the prime ministers who came after him did. Not that it helped any of them. Ultimately, it's a prime minister's performance that ensures his government's survival. Even if that government has the full support of the establishment (like the floundering government headed by a compulsive liar that we have today).
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