Lawyers observe strike against killing of Latif Afridi

PESHAWAR: The accused held from the bar room was remanded to police for two days as the seasoned lawyer and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Abdul Latif Afridi was laid to rest after his funeral prayer was offered at Bagh-e-Naran in Hayatabad.

Strict security was arranged at Bagh-e-Naran as well as his village Masho Gagar to avoid any untoward incident.

The chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, federal ministers, senior politicians, lawmakers, lawyers and a large number of people from different walks of life attended the funeral of the senior lawyer.

Lawyers observed a complete strike on Tuesday to mourn the tragic incident as no one appeared before the courts. The lawyers’ bodies have announced three-day mourning over the incident.

The accused held for the murder of Latif Lala, Adnan Sami Afridi, was produced before a judicial magistrate on Tuesday. The court granted two days remand and handed over the accused to police.

Police said the accused was arrested from the premises of the Peshawar High Court soon after he fired multiple shots on Latif Afridi inside the bar room.

The lawyers’ bodies had expressed concern over the security, saying how someone can manage to enter the sensitive building with a weapon if the security was up to the mark.

A fact-finding committee was set up under senior superintendent of police investigation to assess if there was a security lapse and to find out as to how the accused managed to enter the high court building with a gun.

Latif Afridi, 79, was a known lawyer as well as a senior politician who also remained a member of the National Assembly. He remained associated with the Awami National Party and National Democratic Movement.

As a senior lawyer, he remained president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Peshawar High Court Bar Association and vice chairman Pakistan Bar Council. He was a powerful voice against the dictatorship and raised his strong voice for democracy.

The seasoned lawyer was present in the bar room with other colleagues when a young man entering the hall opened multiple shots on him, believed to be because of an old blood feud. Reports said the father of the held accused, Samiullah Afridi Advocate, who also remained a lawyer of Shakil Afridi, was killed in 2015.

The deceased Latif Afridi and his son were nominated in a case of murder of a senior judge Aftab Afridi and his family members on Motorway in 2021 but were later acquitted.