A gunman disguised as a lawyer murdered a human rights activist in a court in Pakistan - voila! news

A human rights activist and senior lawyer was murdered in a court in Pakistan (Twitter)

A lawyer and a prominent human rights activist in Pakistan was shot and killed today (Monday) in a court in the city of Peshawar in the northwestern part of the country - so said the police, who arrested the shooter.

Abdul Latif Afridi, former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was a prominent critic of the army and the Islamist terrorist organizations in Pakistan.

He was shot several times in the Peshawar High Court compound, and died of his wounds.

Kashif Abbasi, a local police official, told Reuters that the shooter dressed as a lawyer to get to the court complex.

The suspect has been identified as Adnan Sami Afridi, who is not related to the victim.

Lawyers present at the scene said that the shooter did not try to escape from the scene after assassinating Afridi.

His motive is still unclear.

The motive for his murder is still unclear.

Abdel Latif Afridi (photo: screenshot, Twitter)

Although the court is under heavy police security, lawyers are not physically searched upon entering the premises.

Security arrangements at the courthouse have come under scrutiny in the past, especially after in 2020 a local teenager shot and killed an American citizen of Pakistani origin accused of blasphemy in the courtroom.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif condemned Afridi's murder, and expressed his sorrow and condolences.

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Another security breach in a few years.

Police officers at the scene of the shooting, today (Photo: Reuters)

for further reading

• Pakistan: An angry mob lynched a man who burned a Koran

• Pakistan: Sri Lankan factory manager lynched for "blasphemy"

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