NOWSHERA, July 29: A lawyer of the Peshawar High Court was killed when he was caught in a shootout between police and smugglers in Jehangira here on Monday night.

The dead lawyer was identified as Zahid Jamal of the Peshawar High Court, who was coming from Abbottabad to Peshawar in his car (LOX-3030) after having appeared in a case there. The smugglers escaped the scene taking a vehicle with them.

The police, however, claimed that the smugglers had left behind a vehicle, from which they recovered 50 cordless telephone sets, one Kalashnikov, two pistols and 19 rounds.

Jehangira police in charge Manzoor Ali Shah had established a road blockade near the Kund Khairabad bridge on GT Road when the police spotted two vehicles and signalled them to stop. But the divers did not heed the signal and sped away.

According to police officials, one of the two vehicles also smashed the next barrier and crossed over into Punjab, while the other car turned towards Peshawar and the inmates opened firing on the police party.

The lawyer who was caught in the cross-fire received bullet injuries and was taken to the CMH Nowshera in a critical condition. He died in the hospital.

The police have mentioned in the FIR that they could not confirm whose firing had killed the lawyer.

Major Jamshed Khan, who is a cousin of Zahid Jamal advocate, held police responsible for the killing of the lawyer. He told newsmen that the police had taken up the customs duty and violated its jurisdiction by opening fire on vehicles on the busy GT Road.

The police was chasing the two vehicles from the Jehangira chowk as the drivers did not stop when they were signalled by the police.