Gunman dressed as lawyer kills prominent attorney inside courtroom in Pakistan

A gunman dressed in comprehensive judicial robes shot and killed a notable lawyer inside of a courtroom in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, law enforcement explained.

The attacker, who was arrested at the scene, experienced opened fire at Abdul Latif Afridi, a previous president of Pakistan’s attorneys union and a outstanding determine in the community, fatally wounding him. The assault took put at the Significant Court docket in Peshawar.

The attacker, Adnan Khan, experienced earlier accused Afridi of orchestrating the 2015 killing of his father, Samiullah Khan, who was also a lawyer, claimed Naeem Khan, a law enforcement officer.

The gunman fired six pictures at 79-12 months-aged Afridi’s upper body from significantly less than a foot away, eyewitness and authorized assistant Muhammad Rizwan explained to AFP.

According to Rizwan, as the gunman surrendered to police, he claimed: “Really don’t shoot, I had a feud with him and I have taken my revenge.”

It was unclear how the attacker managed to sneak into the court docket developing with a handgun. The killing was condemned by Primary Minister Shahbaz Sharif, govt officers, politicians and attorneys.

In a assertion, Sharif expressed issue about the deteriorating security scenario in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where by Peshawar is the cash. His chief rival, the social gathering of opposition chief and previous Primary Minister Imran Khan is in electrical power in the provincial assembly.

Sharif explained Afridi as “a seasoned jurist and a brave politician who was recognized for his righteousness”.

Prior to his killing, Samiullah Khan, the father of the attacker, had represented Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who assisted the CIA find al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 by Navy SEALs in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The medical doctor ran a bogus vaccination marketing campaign that aided find and detect bin Laden. The physician and the attorney killed on Monday are not associated.

In 2012, Pakistan sentenced Shakil Afridi to 33 years in jail on prices of allegedly offering revenue and health care therapy to Islamic militants in a previous tribal region. Afridi and his household have denied these costs.

Pakistan was outraged around staying kept in the darkish forward of the SEALs operation. Washington has demanded Afridi’s launch but Islamabad has resisted the need, expressing he violated Pakistani law. The health practitioner was never ever formally charged in bin Laden’s scenario.

AFP contributed to this report.