Pakistan: Protests erupt after police kill lawyer, his associate in raid
Vehari police allegedly opened fire inside the house of district bar’s lawyer, Zeeshan Shani Advocate and his associate, killing him on the spot under the pretext of drug-related allegations. Immediately after the incident, the lawyer community and the victim’s family started protest, blocking roads and chanting slogans against the police. The family members staged a protest at the main Chowk, while the victim’s mother and other women tearfully alleged that the police accepted a large bribe from their rivals and murdered her innocent son. They claimed that police personnel forcibly entered the house early in the morning, vandalised household items, and then brutally shot the young lawyer. Both the family and the lawyers further accused the police of illegally detaining the heirs for several hours and refusing to hand over the body to either the family or the legal fraternity. Lawyers continued to demand that the post-mortem be conducted strictly under their supervision to ensure transparency. Lawyers’ organisations across the district also staged strong demonstrations, alleging that DSP Rizwan Khan and SHO Rai Sajid led the operation in which a young lawyer was deliberately killed inside his home. Road blockades and sit-ins caused a complete standstill in the city’s traffic. The situation escalated further when lawyers from the Multan High Court Bar also joined the protest. The crisis deepened when the Punjab Bar Council announced a province-wide strike for an indefinite period, declaring that no police personnel will be allowed to enter any court premises across Punjab. Meanwhile, the police issued a press release claiming that during a raid against drug dealers, Zeeshan alias Shani opened fire first, prompting retaliatory fire in which he and his associate were killed. The family and lawyers have rejected the police version as a “fabricated and false narrative.”Police and district administration officials are reviewing the situation and deliberating on further investigati
Pakistan: Protests erupt after police kill lawyer, his associate in raid
