Lawyer pleading Imran Khan’s treason case shot dead in Quetta, Balochistan

Armed bikers shot dead senior Pakistani Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar on Tuesday in Balochistan capital Quetta. Shar was pleading a treason case involving former prime minister Imran Khan.

Pakistani newspaper, The News International says that Shar was going to the Balochistan High Court (BHC) when he was attacked by unidentified armed men on three motorcycles.

Jamil Shaheed Station House Officer (SHO) Gul Muhammad told the Dawn newspaper that Shar was being pursued by unidentified people on three motorbikes. He said: “According to eyewitnesses, he was travelling in his relative’s vehicle”.

Shar was rushed to the Quetta Civil Hospital but he had already succumbed to his injuries. He sustained 16 bullets in the attack on his chest, neck and stomach.

Shar had recently filed a petition before the court mentioning threats against him.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Ataullah Tarar held Imran Khan “directly responsible” for the murder. He claimed that the targeted killing was related to a treason case against Imran, which Shar was pleading.

A division bench of the BHC, comprising Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Muhammad Amir Nawaz Rana, had heard Shar’s petition on May 29 seeking the former prime minister’s trial under Article 6 of the Constitution for asking President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly in violation of the Constitution.

The Quetta Bar Association announced a boycott of the courts along with a three-day mourning.