Lawyers on Monday staged a strike and mourned the Sunday bombing dead in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park. Black flags were hoisted at bar premises and national flags were at half mast while the lawyers wore black armbands. Judges put off their work and protest meetings also took place at the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Lahore Bar Association.
Speakers condemned the attack and also lambasted the government for its failure to protect lives and demanded that it ensure immediate fool-proof security throughout the country. They also demanded punishment of Sunday's perpetrators. A joint protest-cum-peace rally leading from Aiwan-i-Adl to the Punjab Assembly Hall is to be held today by the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association.
In a statement, Supreme Court Bar Association President Syed Ali Zafar said it was "a coward and vicious terrorist attack on the innocent citizens of Pakistan. Terrorists must know that as always the legal community of the country along with all Pakistanis will stand strong and united against such these evil people," he added. He also suggested that the government seriously consider giving authority to the armed forces to clean up the cities in and parts of the Punjab suspected of harbouring or supporting these terrorists.