LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has made a civil judge an OSD (officer on special duty) for being on hit-list of militant groups, Dawn learnt on Monday.

Ali Ashtar Naqvi Syed has been posted at Ferozewala since 2012 as civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate.

Sources said eight members of various banned outfits arrested by police in May last revealed to their interrogators that Mr Syed was on the list of their potential targets, besides many others, including some judges, lawyers and journalists.

Many lawyers, judges and other professionals, especially those belonging to Shia sect have been killed, harassed and terrorised by militant groups in past. In a recent happening, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the LHC also received a threatening letter from a banned outfit when he was holding a judicial inquiry into June 17 Model Town killings.

Sources in the LHC revealed that Mr Syed had been receiving life threats for the last one year after he ordered sealing of a mosque owing to a dispute over its possession between two rival sects - "deobandi" and "barevli".

They said the civil judge, on the advice of law enforcement agencies, went underground to avoid any possible attack and obtained one-month leave from the high court. Acting Chief Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik also posted Mr Syed as an OSD on his representation.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2014