Policeman gunned down outside Peshawar court

Official says victim testified before Sessions Court moments before he was killed inside Peshawar's judicial complex

PESHAWAR: A policeman was killed while two other persons were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them outside a court room in Peshawar on Thursday.

The incident occurred in the jurisdiction of the judicial complex in Peshawar. Whether the two injured victims were also policemen is yet to determined.

“Constable Hashmat was killed on the spot while two others received injuries as a result of gunfire just outside the court room in the judicial complex building of the Sessions Court,” an official who did not wish to be named told The Express Tribune. The identity of the deceased, however, is yet to be officially revealed.

“This seems to be a case of personal enmity as the [deceased] victim had testified in court,” the official added.

Read: Family ‘honour’: Youth attempts to kill sister in court

The injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital where their condition is said to be stable.

Meanwhile, all the entry and exit points of the Session’s Court were sealed as security was beefed up outside courts across the city and additional police force was also called in at the scene of the crime.

The Peshawar High Court took notice of the incident.

Efforts are under way to arrest the accused.

Read: Suicide bombing at Peshawar Judicial Complex kills four

Two years ago, terrorists carried out a suicide attack on the judicial complex in Peshawar, which left four people dead and 29 others injured.

A suicide bomber, posing as a local clerk, threw a grenade in the court room of additional sessions judge Kulsoom Azam before blowing himself up.