PHC judge, driver injured in attack

PESHAWAR: Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and his driver sustained injuries when two armed men opened fire on his vehicle on Thursday, sources said. SSP Operations, Zahoor Afridi, told media persons that two unidentified attackers fired multiple shots with a pistol and Kalashnikov rifle at the vehicle of Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan in Hayatabad at 8am a few minutes after he left his residence. “The attackers were waiting for the judge's car and they fired indiscriminately at the vehicle. About 20 bullets have been fired at the car,” the SSP Operations said.

Spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Muhammad Khursani, through a statement claimed responsibility for the attack on the judge. He said the judges were a target for the TTP as they have sentenced their men to death and imprisonment at the behest of the government.

Dr Ziaur Rehman, a doctor at a private hospital where the judge is under treatment, told The News that Justice Ayub Khan had suffered two bullet wounds, one to his right forearm and another above his eye. “His condition is now stable,” he added. Muhammad Gul, driver of Justice Ayub Khan received one bullet in the left arm

K P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also visited the hospital and inquired after the health of the judge. The chief minister also ordered an inquiry into the incident. On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, Peshawar High Court Bar Association and Peshawar District Bar Association observed complete boycott of the courts to protest the attack on the judge.