QUETTA: Senior Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Abdul Razzaq Shar was shot dead by armed motorcyclists in a drive-by shooting on Quetta’s Airport Road on Tuesday, police said.
Jamil Shaheed Station House Officer (SHO) Gul Muhammad, while confirming the incident, told media that Shar was on his way to the Balochistan High Court (BHC) when he was targetted by unidentified persons on three motorcycles.
“According to eyewitnesses, he was travelling in his relative’s vehicle,” the official said. The lawyer was immediately rushed to the Quetta Civil Hospital, however, he succumbed to his injuries on the way. Police Surgeon Ayesha Faiz told media that Shar sustained 16 bullets in the attack.
“A post-mortem examination of his body was not carried out due to the family’s insistence,” she said, adding that the bullets Shar sustained on his chest, neck and stomach proved to be fatal.
SHO Muhammad added that the police had cordoned off the attack site and an investigation was under way to arrest the suspects. Condemning the shooting, Quetta Bar Association President Abid Kakar announced a complete boycott of the BHC and lower courts along with a three-day mourning period over Shar’s death.
Senior lawyer Mir Ataullah Lango said Advocate Shar had recently filed a petition in the court detailing the threats to his life. “He said his life was in danger and needed protection but the government failed to provide him protection.”
Lango maintained that a threat to life was always present if a person was a senior lawyer. “You handle many different cases but cannot know where the danger is from.”
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Ataullah Tarar held PTI Chairman Imran Khan “directly re-sponsible” for the murder of Advocate Shar.
He claimed that the targeted killing was related to a treason case against Imran, which Tarar said was reaching its con-clusion in the next few hearings. –Agencies
