Pakistani ex-PM charged with involvement in murder

On June 8, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted PTI Chairman Imran Khan protective bail in a case registered against him for the murder of senior Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar for two weeks.

The order was passed by a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Dawn reports.

Shar was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Quetta’s Alamo Chowk on Airport Road on June 6. Police said he was on his way to the Balochistan High Court when his vehicle came under attack by unknown men armed with automatic weapons. The lawyer received 15 bullet injuries and died on the spot.

The government and the PTI had traded blame over the incident, with both sides accusing the other of having a role in the killing.

Prime minister’s aide Attaullah Tarar had alleged that the lawyer was killed at the behest of Imran to allegedly evade accountability in a treason case while PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan had accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of being behind the murder.

It may be recalled that Shar had filed a constitutional petition against the PTI chief in the Balochistan High Court, seeking proceedings against the ex-premier under Article 6 that pertained to high treason. His petition said that Imran Khan should be tried under Article 6 in light of the apex court decision which had recommended legal action against Imran Khan and Qasim Suri for illegally dissolving the National Assembly after the joint opposition had moved a no-trust motion against the PTI government in April 2022.

On June 6, a first information report (FIR) was registered on the complaint of Shar’s son, Advocate Siraj Ahmed, against Imran at Quetta’s Shaheed Jamil police station in an “abetment to murder” case.

In the complaint, Ahmed said he was “certain” about the involvement of the former premier and others from the PTI in his father’s murder because of this case.