A court on Tuesday handed over the self-confessed shooter who shot and killed senior lawyer Latif Afridi in the bar room of the Peshawar High Court to the police on two-day physical remand.
Former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Latif was killed on Monday in the bar room of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) after being shot six times, police said. That it was a family feud.
Police produced the main accused Adnan Afridi — who was arrested from the spot soon after the shooting — in the court of Judicial Magistrate Badr Munir amid tight security.
The police requested the court to give Adnan physical remand to investigate the murder case. He informed the court that the accused had confessed to “killing” Latif citing “personal enmity” in his confessional statement.
The police official said that the suspect needs to be detained for further investigation.
The court accepted the request of the police and handed over the accused to the police on two-day physical remand.
Latif Afridi’s funeral prayer was performed in Peshawar.
The funeral prayers of the former SCBA president were offered amid tight security at Bagh Naran in Hayatabad area of Peshawar.
PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and other judges, senior lawyers, politicians and social activists participated in the funeral prayer. Federal Law Minister Nazir Tarar, Awami National Party leader Iftikhar Hussain and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Inayatullah were also present.
After performing the funeral prayers, Latif was buried in his native village.
Chief Justice called the killing of Latif Afrid a big loss
Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Atta Bandyal termed Latif’s killing as a “great loss”.
During the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Bandyal said that Latif Afridi was a great personality.
He termed the killing of the senior lawyer as a sad incident.
He asked lawyer Iftikhar Gilani whether Latif is related to Kohat.
However, the lawyer told the Chief Justice that he belongs to the border area.
Shooting
Former SCBA president Latif was shot dead inside the bar room of PHC on Monday.
After the shooting, the senior lawyer was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The management of the medical facility says that Latif was hit by six bullets.
Speaking to the media, SSP Operations Kashif Abbasi said that the murder appears to be the result of a blood feud between two families. However, further investigation was underway.
When asked about the security arrangements at the high court, the police official said that they are reviewing it and if any lapses are found, action will be taken.
It should be noted that Latif was acquitted a few weeks ago by the Swat Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Aftab Afridi and three members of his family in the murder case.
He was booked along with nine others in the judge’s murder case.
According to details, Aftab Afridi, his wife, one-and-a-half-year-old grandson and daughter-in-law were going to Islamabad from Peshawar via Swabi when unknown assailants attacked their car near Amber Interchange in April 2021.
However, then SCBA president Latif denied his involvement in the incident and said that he and his son were falsely implicated in the case. He also assured the authorities of full cooperation with the concerned institutions.
However, the judge’s family rejected the verdict in a press conference, requesting justice from the High Court, saying they have evidence of the lawyer’s involvement in the murder.
