Shots fired at Justice Ijazul Ahsan's Lahore residence
- By Web Desk -
- Apr 15, 2018
LAHORE: Unidentified gunmen fired shots at the residence of Supreme Court judge Justice Ijazul Ahsan in the provincial capital’s Model Town, ARY News reported.
According to the details, two separate incidents of firing took place on Saturday night and Sunday morning. There were no reports of anyone receiving injuries as a result of the firing.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar while taking cognizance of the firing incident reached the residence of Justice Ahsan. He directed Inspector General of Punjab Police Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz to thoroughly investigate the incident.
The chief justice himself is monitoring the situation, according to a statement issued by the apex court.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and directed the police to ensure immediate arrest of the attackers.
In a statement, the premier directed the law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.
The legal fraternity of the country while condemning the firing demanded more security for superior court judges.
The Supreme Court Bar Association President demanded that a joint investigation team be formed to probe the incident.
It merits mention here that Justice Ahsan had been appointed as monitoring judge to supervise the trial proceedings in the accountability court of Islamabad against former premier Nawaz Sharif, and members of his family.
On July 28 last year, a five-judge bench of the apex court unanimously disqualified Sharif and directed the NAB to file references against him, his sons – Hassan and Hussain Nawaz – daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar and Ishaq Dar.
The judge was also part of the five-member bench that heard and decide the Panama Papers case, which resulted in the disqualification of the PML-N supreme leader.
Condemnations pour in
After the armed attack on Justice Ahsan’s house made headlines, a large number of political leaders strongly condemned it.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan said: “Strongly condemn the firing at Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan’s house. These Sicilian-mafia-like tactics to pressurise senior judiciary are unacceptable in any democracy. PTI stands firmly behind the Judiciary & Rule of Law & this is one reason behind our 29th April Minar-i-Pakistan jalsa.”
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, condemning the incident, demanded that the government should probe it and bring the culprits to justice. He termed the attack on the apex court judge’s residence an attack on the country’s security.
Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah said a complete investigation should be carried out into the attack and demanded of the government to take foolproof security measures for judges’ security.
Ameer Jamaat e Islami (JI) Pakistan Siraj ul Haq while deploring the attack said no tactics aimed to pressurise or frighten the judiciary would succeed.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in a statement called for a judicial probe into the matter.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri also condemned the incident.