By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A top lawyer and a human right activist has been murdered in the bar room of Peshawar High Court by a junior colleague in northwestern Pakistan, police said on Monday.
Abdul Latif Afridi, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, was lounging with co-workers in a break room at Peshawar high court when he was killed in an apparent grudge attack.
“The killer, a junior lawyer who was wearing his gown, opened fire at close range and then handed himself over to the police,” Ijaz Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar, said.
The gunman fired six shots at 79-year-old Afridi’s chest from less than a foot away.
The senior lawyer was immediately shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital here, but he was pronounced dead on arrival, hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim said.
The gunman surrendered to police, he said: “Don’t shoot, I had a feud with him and I have taken my revenge.”
Police have arrested Adnan Khan Afridi, a distantly related to the dead lawyer.
He was shifted to the anti-terrorism court here under tight security. Police also suspected the attack was carried out of “personal enmity”.
Police said there was a case pending against Afrid alleging his involvement in the murder of the father of the man arrested for gunning him down on Monday afternoon.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep sorrow” over Afridi’s murder.
“I pray that the bereaved family bear this loss with fortitude. The worsening law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is alarming,” Prime Minister Sharif said in a tweet.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the murder of Afridi and said he was a strong supporter of democracy and a staunch opponent of extremism.
“He was a steadfast defender of human rights, and always stood strong for a pluralistic, tolerant Pakistan,” the minister said in a tweet.
Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association announced boycott of courts across the country to protest Afridi’s murder.
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