PESHAWAR/DIR/BAJAUR: People from all walks of life, including political leaders, condemned the killing of senior Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi in a gun attack on the premises of the Peshawar High Court here on Monday.

Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan denounced the murder of Mr Afridi as the “most dastardly act.”

He said Mr Afridi was not only a senior lawyer but he had contributed to the national movement as well.

“Today is the black day not only for the lawyers but for the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well,” he said in a statement issued in Charsadda.

Mr Asfandyar sympathised with the family of the deceased and prayed for his soul.

Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao also condemned the killing of Mr Afridi and said the entire nation stood with the deceased’s family in the current time of distress.

Legal community announces boycott of courts

“Such incidents cause unrest among lawyers,” the QWP chief said in a statement.

Also,members of the legal fraternity in Lower Dir district on Monday condemned the killing of Mr Afridi.

Former president of the district bar association Jehan Bahadar told reporters in the Timergara area that the senior lawyer’s killing on the high court’s premises had exposed the security lapse on part of authorities.

“Such brutal acts can’t be tolerated in any part of the country,” he said.

Mr Bahadar said lawyers across the province would boycott courts from today (Tuesday) as a protest against the killing of the senior lawyer.

He said the deceased was a teacher of thousands of lawyers and a symbol of love, kindness and principles.

Other members of the association also condemned the killing and prayed for the departed soul.

Meanwhile, political leaders and lawyers in Bajaur tribal district condemned the killing of Mr Afridi in Peshawar attack.

In separate statements, the local leaders of political parties and the lawyer community expressed concern over the incident and called the murder of Mr Afridi a great and irreparable loss for the entire province.

ANP district president Gul Afzal Khan denounced the killing, which, he said, shocked party workers in the district.

“Mr Afridi had spent his entire life for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. His assassination is a great loss for the people of the entire province,” he said.

Mr Khan said the murder had exposed the provincial government’s failure to ensure the security of the high court’s barroom.

Senior PML-N leader and former lawmaker Shahabuddin Khan, in a statement, condemned the murder of the senior lawyer and called it a huge and irreparable loss for the locals, especially the oppressed people.

He said Mr Afridi was a courageous lawyer, who boldly raised his voice for the improvement of the human rights situation in the country.

Senior lawyer and Bajaur Bar Association general Secretary Ikramuddin Durrani, in a statement, expressed sorrow over the killing of Mr Afridi and said the attack deprived the province of a talented lawyer and human rights campaigner.

He said the murder shocked the legal community, which decided to observe a three-day mourning in the province.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023