Four armed men arrested outside court

Lahore Airport shooting case hearing was taking place inside

LAHORE: Another grizzly incident in a longstanding family dispute was narrowly averted as Race Course police arrested four suspects and seized heavy ammunition outside an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday. Reportedly, suspects involved in the Allama Iqbal International Airport murder incident were appearing for a hearing inside.

The Express Tribune learnt that the hearing in the murder case of Zain Ali and the other victim at the airport was scheduled before an accountability court. A suspect named Israr Butt, brother of the deceased Babar Butt, was expected to appear before the court

Police investigations revealed that a police team managed to arrest suspects who were carrying arms in their vehicles outside the accountability court. The arrested suspects were affiliated with the Israr Butt and Jutt groups. The recovered ammunition included submachine guns, pistols and hundreds of bullets. A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter further.

This latest incident and the shooting at Lahore airport are related to an ongoing, old enmity between the said rival groups. Zain Ali had returned to the provincial capital after performing pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia when he was shot and killed at the airport.

He was one of the accused nominated in the murder of Babar Butt, the brother of Israr Butt.

This is not the first incident involving an attempted murder outside a court of law. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2019.