Pakistan: Top lawyer Latif Afridi shot dead inside Peshawar High Court

Peshawar: A top lawyer was murdered at a Pakistan high court on Monday by a colleague who shot him six times while dressed in full judicial robes, police and a witness said.

Abdul Latif Afridi – former president of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association – was lounging with coworkers in a break room at Peshawar High Court when he was slain 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, told AFP.

The gunman fired six shots at 79-year-old Afridi’s chest from less than a foot (30 centimetres) away, eyewitness and legal assistant Muhammad Rizwan told AFP.

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

Afridi – who also served in the national assembly in the 1990s – was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to police.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described Afridi in a statement as “a seasoned jurist and a brave politician who was known for his righteousness”.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a rugged northwestern province bordering Afghanistan and populated by tribal groups often feuding over land and honour.

Police said there was a case pending against the slain lawyer alleging his involvement in the murder of the father of the man arrested for gunning him down on Monday afternoon.

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Adnan Khan Afridi, the man in police custody, is distantly related to the slain veteran lawyer.

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