Advocate Latif murder case: ‘Lawyer’s killer used to harass minority families’

Suspect Rashid presented himself for arrest after his mother-in-law was taken into custody

LAHORE: Muhammad Rashid, accused of killing an Ahmadi lawyer in Nankana Sahib, used to harass others of the minority group over their religious beliefs, The Express Tribune learnt on Saturday.

Rashid have also confessed to his crime before the police, saying he killed Advocate Malik Saleem Latif over his religious beliefs.

Rashid, who has been in police custody since the day of incident on March 30, insulted a family at its arrival at a gold ornament shop a few weeks back. He was a security guard at the store and asked them to leave, said Advocate Malik Farhan, son of deceased Latif. He said the accused also insulted a rickshaw driver for giving a ride to an Ahmadi family in the area.

The accused presented himself for arrest to the police after the cops took his mother-in-law into custody.

They arrested two of his relatives before taking his mother-in-law into custody, said a police source at Nankana Sahib City Police Station.  The source added police have not put his arrest on record thus far and still they are interrogating him for leads on his accomplices.

He will be presented before a court after the completion of the investigation.

Farhan, the son of deceased, told The Express Tribune that neither he nor his father had any altercation with the accused before this incident.

He said after the murder, his family shifted from Nankana Sahib, fearing another attack.

On March 30, Advocate Malik Saleem Latif, head of Nankana City Jamat-e-Ahmadiya and second cousin of noble laureate Dr Abdus Salam, was gunned down when he going to his office with his son Advocate Malik Awais. Assailants shot at them when the two neared Beri Wala Chowk.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2017.