TANK: Armed assailants riding a motorbike gunned down Tank District Bar General Secretary Syed Azam Kundi Advocate in the Imamkhel Bazaar here on Monday.

The killing sparked protests by the lawyers who placed the body at the busy Kashmir Chowk.

The protesters chanted slogans against the district administration and the district police chief.

According to police and local residents, Mr Kundi was going to local courts from his residence as a routine when armed men opened fire on him at Imamkhel, killing him on the spot.

The legal fraternity led by district bar president Pir Abdul Ghaffar Shah, civil society members and local residents held a rally, starting from the district headquarters hospital, Tank, to the Kashmir Chowk.

The speakers held the district police officer responsible for the gory murder. They were of the view that the DPO had ordered withdrawal of security from the slain lawyer and provided opportunity to the attackers to kill him.

They demanded probe into the murder of senior lawyer and arrest of the killers at the earliest.

They said if the demands of lawyers were not fulfilled then they would start a strong campaign against the police high-ups and the district administration.

Later, brother of the deceased registered an FIR against two accused, Mehran and Dawood, saying the cause of the death was an old enmity.

Later in the day, the deceased was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Imamkhel village. A large number of people participated in the funeral prayers.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2018