CHARSADDA: A protest sit-in camp was arranged outside the offices of the district police officer (DPO), demanding arrest of a police officer nominated in the killing of a local lawyer here on Friday.

The lawyers from across the province and workers of other political parties also participated in the protest, which was organised by Jamaat-i-Islami Charsadda chapter.

The speakers on this occasion said that the protest would continue until the accused police officer was brought to the book. They emphasised that such a brutality by the police would not be tolerated.

They announced that if their demands were not met and the accused SHO of Charsadda city police station was not arrested within one week, they would hold another protest next Friday in front of the RPO Mardan office.

The protesters demanded the arrest of the nominated SHO in the murder case of Mian Asim Shah, a judicial inquiry and justice for the aggrievedfamily.

President of Peshawar High Court Bar Association Advocate Aminur Rehman stated that the Charsadda police had committed an act of extreme brutality by shooting and killing the young, innocent lawyer. He declared that no lawyer would take up any case against the slain advocate.

He made it clear that if the investigation was not completed within the set timeframe, they would demand transfer of the IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, DPO Charsadda Muhammad Waqas spoke to the media regarding the murder case of advocate Mian Asim Shah and said that all demands of the deceased’s family had been accepted and that a transparent investigation was ongoing.

According to the DPO, the nominated accused, SHO Behramand Shah, has been granted transit bail (temporary pre-arrest bail), and an inquiry against him was under way.

To ensure transparency, the case investigation has been transferred from Charsadda to Mardan, where a four-member committee, supervised by SP investigation Nisar Ahmed has been formed. The SHO has been charge-sheeted, he added.

The DPO confirmed that the CCTV footage of the incident had been received, and all modern forensic tools, including those from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), were being used to avoid any negligence in the investigation. Two policemen were also injured during the incident and are currently under treatment in a hospital.

He assured that all individuals involved in the incident would be punished in accordance with the law.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025