- Aitzaz demands police to trace and arrest attackers forthwith
- SCBA threatens strike on Monday if thorough probe to arrest culprits not carried out
LAHORE: Former Punjab governor and senior lawyer Latif Khosa remained safe while his diver sustained bullet wounds when unidentified armed men opened fire on his house in Defence area of Lahore late Thursday night.
Latif Khosa said some unidentified persons opened fire at his residence which was so intense that bullets penetrated the main gate and hit the cars parked inside the house due to which his driver got injured.
Following the attack, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan reached Khosa’s house to express solidarity with him. Ahsan demanded the police to trace and arrest the attackers forthwith.
SP Cantt Owais Shafique along with a heavy contingent of police reached the house of former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa after the firing incident.
“I was listening to a client’s case at my home. I heard shots, my driver came inside and said that he has been hit by a shot,” the former Punjab governor said.
“When I went outside, I saw [bullet] holes in the gate. A bullet also hit my car. The shots were fired from a Kalashnikov.
Pictures and videos of his house showed several bullets lying on the ground inside and outside his house along with a bullet hole in his car’s front bumper.
Bullet holes and damage caused by the firing could also be seen on his house’s main gate.
Khosa said that till 7pm on Thursday, he was attending a lawyer’s convention — organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar Association — where he talked about the “Constitution’s supremacy […] and the judicial system”.
“I said [during the convention] that unconstitutional government has been imposed in two provinces. The way chants are raised outside the Supreme Court, it is contempt [of court],” the veteran lawyer said.
He lamented: “There was a huge applause there but here [those remarks] sparked [the firing].”
Khosa asserted: “The lawyer’s movement cannot be weakened by such tactics. We are standing with the chief justice [of Pakistan].
Noting that “power is being grossly abused”, the former Punjab governor said he had never before seen such a period in the country’s history.
The initial report about the incident reveal pistol and riffle were used in firing at the senior lawyer’s house. Seven bullet cases have been found by the investigators from outside Khosa’s house.
The injured driver named Javed was shifted to hospital, where his statement is being recorded, the police said and added that CCTV footage is being reviewed for the arrest of the attackers.
Khosa maintained that he told the police officers that the Punjab inspector general (IG) was “domineering” and held press conferences every day. He claimed that he would file a case against the IG if he arrived at Khosa’s residence.
“If the police want to catch someone, no one can escape from them. My son was shot at four months ago. In a city like Lahore, the accused are still not caught. This is the defence, the red zone of Lahore. I speak of the supremacy of the Constitution,” he said.
Khosa alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was also involved in everything. He vowed that nothing beyond the law would be allowed.
On this occasion, Aitzaz Ahsan said that the IG and the deputy inspector general should conduct an inclusive investigation into the May 9 incident and probe why the police and army did not arrest people who were present at the Jinnah House “on the spot”.
“There is strange geo-fencing, shopkeepers and innocent people are picked up,” he said. The lawyer continued that someone should tell the army chief that military courts are illegal.
“They understand that lawyers will be afraid of such intimidation incidents,” he claimed and strongly condemned the incident.
SCBA condemns incident
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) strongly condemned the incident and called upon the government, IG and relevant quarters for a thorough investigation to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.
It warned that otherwise, the association would observe a countrywide full-day strike on June 19 (Monday).
SCBA President Barrister Abid S Zuberi said Khosa was one of the “few remaining independent and fearless voices advocating, for the cause of rule of law, civilian supremacy, independence of judiciary and against civilian trials in military courts”.
He added that such an attack on his residence sent a “threatening message to the legal community against exercising their right to freedom of speech without fear of retribution”.
“This incident clearly showcases the absolute anarchy prevalent in the country where fundamental rights of the citizens are being violated, judgments of the Superior Courts are ridiculed and disobeyed and the Constitution is repeatedly violated by failing to conduct elections in the time frame mandated by the Constitution and the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court.
“Therefore, this association cannot turn a blind eye towards the safety and security of its senior members who play a crucial role in safeguarding the fundamental rights of individuals, ensuring access to justice and upholding the principles of democracy. Any harm or threat to their well-being undermines the foundations of a just and democratic society,” he said, according to a press release issued by the association.
