KARACHI, Pakistan — Police have registered a first information report naming more than a dozen lawyers accused of assaulting YouTuber Rajab Butt inside Karachi City Courts while he sought bail in a case over alleged religious-insult remarks and of taking Rs300,000 from his bag, according to reporting by Dawn, Dec. 30, 2025.
Video from the scene, showing Rajab Butt with a torn shirt amid a crush of people, has revived questions about safety and accountability inside Pakistan’s court complexes.
Rajab Butt assault case: what the FIR alleges
Rajab Butt’s counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq, told police his client arrived at City Courts around 9 a.m. on Dec. 29 for a bail hearing tied to a case under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, The Express Tribune reported.
The FIR alleges lawyers Riaz Ali Solangi and Abdul Fatah, along with 15 to 20 unidentified men, attacked Butt near the West Building, assaulted him and his legal team, and snatched a bag later returned without the cash, Geo News reported.
The FIR cites PPC sections 147, 148, 382, 506 and 337-A.
What lawyers say happened
Solangi has said Butt sparked anger after posting a vlog that, he alleged, insulted lawyers in Karachi. He has also claimed Rajab Butt later apologized at the Karachi Bar Association’s committee room.
Fallout at Karachi City Courts
Police officials have said no arrests had been made in the initial case as lawyers protested outside the courts. Soon after, a separate complaint accused a group of lawyers of forcing their way into the City Courts police station and assaulting the station house officer while demanding an FIR against Rajab Butt and his counsel, Dawn reported.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for a prompt, impartial investigation and warned that “violence, intimidation and vigilantism — particularly inside courts — undermine the rule of law and the right to due process,” in a statement posted on X.
A familiar pattern of courtroom unrest
Pakistan’s justice system has seen repeated flashpoints involving lawyers and public institutions — from lawyers storming the Islamabad High Court in 2021, according to Dawn, to a 2019 Lahore incident in which lawyers ransacked a public cardiac hospital, as Reuters reported.
For Rajab Butt, the immediate test is whether investigators can identify suspects, verify the theft allegation and keep the case in court — not in the crowd.
