Lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar was shot by unknown gunmen and charged Khan with high treason, police said.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been formally named in connection with the murder of a lawyer who accused him of high treason. Khan has called the accusation “foolish”.
Attorney Abdul Razzaq Shar was on his way to the Balochistan High Court complex in Quetta on Tuesday when he was shot by unidentified gunmen, according to an indictment filed on Wednesday. Police officers told Al Jazeera that Shar was shot more than 10 times in his car and died instantly.
Shar’s son, Siraj Ahmed, filed a complaint against the leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, accusing the former prime minister of complicity in murder. Khan.
“My father has filed a case against Imran Khan under Article 6, and I am sure that is why [Khan] and his PTI people killed my father and spread terror,” Ahmed said in the statement, adding that his father had received death threats after submitting his petition against Khan.
Shar had filed his petition to the Balochistan High Court last month seeking a trial against the former prime minister under Article 6 of Pakistan’s constitution, which is linked to charges of high treason.
In his petition, Shar argued that Khan should be tried for treason over his decision to dissolve the National Assembly last April to avoid a vote of no confidence designed to remove him as prime minister.
In a video posted to PTI social media accounts on Wednesday, Khan called the allegations against him absurd and said he was unaware he had been charged in the “foolish case”.
“This case was one of many brought against me and was never going to go ahead, but now I’ve been charged with murder,” he said. “I’m going to Islamabad tomorrow to get bail on 16 cases, but I’m willing to go to jail because I know they’ll detain me again.”
Khan’s dissolution of parliament on 3 April 2022 was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and Khan was removed from power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence a week later.
Attaullah Tarar, an aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claimed at a press conference on Tuesday that the PTI chief is behind Sharif’s assassination. The PTI rejected the allegations and demanded a transparent investigation.
Raoof Hasan, the central information secretary of PTI, demanded in a statement released Tuesday that Sharif and Home Minister Rana Sanaullah be officially named in the murder case.
“Both of them should be removed from their positions and investigated,” Hassan said. He also urged the Supreme Court to take note of the lawyer’s murder.
The murder case is the latest in a long list of legal challenges faced by Khan, who has registered more than 100 cases against him since his removal from office as his party faces a state-wide crackdown in the aftermath of violent protests last month.
The PTI chief was arrested by a court in Islamabad on May 9 in connection with a corruption case, prompting thousands of his supporters to protest across the country.
Public and private property was looted and military installations and monuments were particularly targeted as the government claimed it was a conspiracy involving PTI employees. The PTI has denied the allegations and accused the government of conducting a witch hunt against the party.
Khan was released within 48 hours of his detention, but thousands of PTI employees are still behind bars. The government has promised to try those involved in attacks on military installations in military courts.
More than 50 people have been cleared for trial in military courts, but proceedings have yet to begin.