ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has termed the killing of veteran barrister and former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Abdul Latif Afridi “a big loss” for Pakistan.
The chief justice expressed these remarks during the hearing of a case in the Supreme Court. Bandial said that Afridi was a towering personality. He inquired of lawyer Iftikhar Gilani whether Afridi belonged to Kohat. The lawyer replied that he hailed from the frontier region.
The chief justice of Pakistan went on to say that he was sad when he heard that Mr Afridi was killed in the bar room. “It’s a very tragic incident,” the judge added.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has given a countrywide strike call for Wednesday to condemn the gruesome murder. The PBC and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) have also decided to not appear in court to register their protest.
The bars demanded the authorities give exemplary punishment to the murderer.
Afridi remained at the forefront of the struggle for the rights of the community and played a key role in the lawyers’ movement in 2007. He had also remained the vice chairman and a member of the Pakistan Bar Council.
He was killed during firing inside the bar room of Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday by a colleague who shot him six times while dressed in full judicial robes, according to police and a witness.
Afridi was lounging with co-workers in a break room at Peshawar High Court when he was killed in an apparent grudge attack.
“The killer, a junior lawyer who was wearing his gown, opened fire at close range and then handed himself over to the police,” Ijaz Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar, said.
The gunman who claimed that he had a feud with Afridi fired six shots at 79-year-old lawyer’s chest from less than a foot away.
His funeral was offered at Hayatabad in Peshawar on Tuesday. A large number of people attended the prayer.
