Former Pakistan Bar Council member Nasrullah Warraich shot dead

All bar councils have announced a strike for Tuesday to mark their protest.

LAHORE: Two unknown assailants gunned down the former chairman executive committee of Pakistan Bar Council, Advocate Nasrullah Warraich, on Monday night, at his residence in Lahore.

Following his murder, the lawyers announced a boycott of courts on Tuesday.

According to Warraich’s friends, the assailants approached the advocate posing as clients and fled after shooting him in the head at the entrance to his house. Ch Naseer Ahmed Advocate told The Express Tribune that the assailants knocked at Warraich’s door, located at 470-A, Gulshan Ravi. When a servant answered the door, the assailants said they wished to see Warraich for a case. At this the servant called Warraich. As the victim neared the gate, the assailants, without speaking, opened fire at him and fled.

Warraich was rushed to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where he succumbed to his injury. The body was later shifted body to Mayo Hospital mortuary for an autopsy.

Warraich had been actively pursuing the murder case of Additional Advocate General Punjab Arif Bhindar recently. Advocate Ahmed said there could be a possibility that enemies of Bhindar were also involved in Warraich’s murder.

A duty officer at Gulshan Ravi police station said that no FIR had been registered so far since no application for one had been filed at the station.

Following the murder, Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association, and Lahore Bar Association, have all issued a strike call for Tuesday to mark their protest.

They have appealed to lawyers to not appear before the courts and observe complete boycott of the court proceedings. Bar representatives condemned the provincial government, accusing it of not providing adequate security to the lawyer.

They said they would protest till his assailant(s) are arrested.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the murder of Warraich and directed Home Secretary and Inspector General Police to leave no stone unturned to arrest the culprits. He also sympathised with the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul.