A senior lawyer was shot dead on Friday on his law to Lahore High Court (LHC).
Advocate Shakir Ali Rizvi was commuting from his office at Jain Mandir to the LHC for a hearing in a murder case when two unidentified men on a motorcycle opened fire on his car. Rizvi died while being taken to Ganga Ram Hospital. His assailants managed to escape.
A duty officer at the Lytton Road police station told The Express Tribune that Advocate Rizvi’s nephew Syed Naeem Abbas Rizvi had filed a complaint.
The duty officer quoted Naeem Abbas Rizvi as having said he was travelling with his uncle in the car’s back seats. He said Sohail Maseeh was driving the car. He said they had picked up some documents from their office near Jain Mandir and were headed towards LHC when two men on a motorcycle opened fire at them a few yards from the office. He said he and the driver remained unhurt.
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu notice of the murder and directed the inspector general of police to submit a report in 24 hours. Bandial observed that the murder appeared to be a result of serious negligence on the part of the police department.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also took notice of the incident and ordered immediate arrest of the assailants.
The murder sparked anger amongst lawyers who boycotted work after hearing the news. The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) convened an emergency meeting to lodge a protest against the murder and demanded immediate arrests. It also constituted a committee comprising senior-members to monitor and cooperate with the police investigation. The bar also appealed to religious leaders of all sects to play their role in controlling sectarian violence.
LHCBA president Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that the bar condemned Advocate Rizvi’s murder. He said lawyers would not rest until his killers were arrested. He said law enforcing agencies had failed to protect the life and property of citizens. He said the house will decide whether or not to call a strike on Saturday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2012.
COMMENTS (8)
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I am more surprized that there is a Jain Mandir in Pakistan then the lawyer being shot dead!!! Is the mandir still used by Jains or taken over?
Will ET ever mention whose case he was fighting or is it too much to ask from you ET?
A senior lawyer was shot dead on Friday on his law to Lahore High Court (LHC).
Correction please on his way.
A senior lawyer was shot dead on Friday on his "law" to Lahore High Court (LHC)..... Wow wonderful subbing by tribune subbers.......
Inna-Lillah-e-Wa-Inna-Illehi-Raaji-oon.....These crimes can only be stopped with a strong network of intelligence.....our intelligence agencies need to be injected with professionalism and we need to exert pressure on them to concentrate on these criminal networks rather than wasting their energies on going after politicians and their families.....Look at what happened in New York recently where the Bangladeshi man was caught by a remarkable sting operation, solely by the FBI intelligence network....I am sure our agencies can work even better if this becomes their priority......Our agencies are not working to prevent crime and only wake up after an incident happens.
May Allah rest his soul in peace and give courage to his loved ones. As for the morally depraved barbaric organizations/people who are ruthlessly killing Shias and minorities should fear the day when they will be accounted for all these atrocities and hopefully in thier lives. As someone said “who lives by the gun dies by the gun".
CM took notice CJ took notice PM took notice President took notice ... 24 hours, 72 hours .. result ? If they cant get hold of Benazir murderers how can they claim to issue these fake statements, loosing hope in the system.
May the departed soul rest in peace, and may Allah give sabar to the family.
This life will soon come to an end, may Allah guide us the right path.
This is the handiwork of the terrorist organization called laskhar e jhangvi. The security agencies need to go after these guys, else this can result in a cycle of violence, which could prove very destructive for already a very weak country.