The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) jointly called for a strike on Thursday against the killing of three lawyers at the Pakistan Chowk in Karachi on Wednesday.

The lawyers boycott court proceedings and staged a sit-in at the MA Jinnah road, Karachi, to protest the killings.

President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Yaseen Azad said, the government has failed to contain target killings of lawyers, and added, the authorities had failed to provide security to the members of the legal fraternity.

According to the SCBA president, so far 24 lawyers had fallen prey to targeted killings in Karachi since 2011 while police have been unable to arrest any of the murderers.

He said lawyers would boycott court proceedings across the country in protest of unabated killings of lawyers.

On Wednesday, three lawyers including a former member of managing committee of Karachi Bar Association, Kafeel Jafari, Shakeel Jafri, and Badar Munir were killed while another lawyer Babar Ali, was injured when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle at the Pakistan Chowk area, police sources said.

Governor Sindh, Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan has condemned the incident and directed concerned officials for immediate arrest of those involved in the incident.

Dr. Ishrat expressed solidarity with the lawyer community and assured that every possible effort would be made to bring the accused to justice.