Abdul Latif Afridi, a renowned Pakistani lawyer shot dead on high court premises
Key takeaways:
- Abdul Latif Afridi, an analyst of the military and Islamist militants, was murdered in Peshawar.
A famous Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist well known as a vocal pundit of the army and Islamist militants has been shot dead at a court in the north-western area of Peshawar.
Shot dead on High Court premises:
Abdul Latif Afridi, an ex-president of Pakistan’s supreme court bar association, was hit numerous times, seemingly by one man, on the premises of the Peshawar high court, said a police officer, Kashif Abbasi.
“We have charged the culprit from the crime scene,” Abbasi stated, adding that the supposed assailant dressed as a lawyer to enter the court premises.
He identified the captured man as Adnan Sami Afridi, who is unrelated to the victim. Attorneys on the premises added that the culprit did not try to run after the shooting.
Though a heavy police delegation is deployed at the Peshawar court, lawyers are not body searched on access.
The security arrangements have yet to be asked, particularly after a US national of Pakistani heritage on trial on blasphemy charges was fatally shot by a teenage lad in a courtroom in 2020.
Pakistan’s PM on the killing:
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, denounced the latest killing and expressed his anguish and sorrow.
Abdul Latif Afridi, a prominent human rights and political activist, has been a vocal analyst of the decisive military’s alleged interference in Pakistani politics and Islamist militancy.
