A joint committee, comprising office-bearers of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and senior officers of the Sindh police and the prosecution department, has been constituted to oversee the progress of investigation and prosecution in the high-profile murder case of Advocate Khawaja Shamsul Islam.
According to an official notification, the committee has been formed to review developments in FIR No. 593/25 registered at the Darakhshan police station under sections 302, 324, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The FIR pertains to the target killing of the senior lawyer and the attempted murder of his son Khawaja Daniyal, who was injured in the same attack. The incident occurred on August 1 at a Quran Academy in DHA.
The committee has been formed on the directives of South Zone police chief Syed Asad Raza, and includes representatives from both the legal fraternity and law enforcement. Representing the SHCBA are Barrister Sarfraz Ali Metlo, president; Rahib Lakho (ASC), vice president; Mirza Sarfaraz Ahmed (ASC), honorary secretary; and Wasim Saif Khoso, joint secretary.
Representing the Sindh police and the prosecution department are DIG Raza, District Public Prosecutor Asadullah Metlo for District South, SSP South Mahzoor Ali and SP Investigation-I South Syed Ali Hassan.
The committee will work in coordination to ensure transparency, accountability, and timely progress in both the investigation and the prosecution of the case, which has stirred concern among the legal community and general public alike.
The senior lawyer was fatally shot on Friday while attending the funeral prayers of a businessman at the Quran Academy, where he had gone with his sons Khawaja Daniyal and Khawaja Hamza.
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident occurred just as the lawyer and his sons were exiting the mosque and putting on their shoes near the stairs. A man dressed in blue shalwar kameez, with his face covered, approached them and opened fire. As a result, Advocate Shamsul Islam was killed while his son Khawaja Daniyal was wounded.
Witnesses said that before fleeing the scene, the assailant shouted that the attack was in revenge for his father’s murder. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras, and the footage showing the suspect was obtained and aided in his identification.
The following day, prime suspect Imran Afridi, identified as a former gunman of Shamsul Islam and the son of police head constable Nabi Gul, released a video statement from an undisclosed location.
Imran Afridi claimed full responsibility for the killing, and claimed that Shamsul Islam was involved in his father’s murder. He also claimed that neither he nor his family had received justice, but instead faced continuous harassment and abuse, which ultimately forced him to take this extreme step.
A separate video statement was later released by the suspect’s uncle Taqdeer Afridi, who has also been named in the murder case. Speaking from an undisclosed location, he denied any involvement in the incident, and distanced himself and others from the act, placing full responsibility on Imran Afridi.
The investigation is still underway, with police conducting raids to apprehend Imran Afridi and the other nominated suspects. A special police team has also been dispatched to Peshawar as part of the manhunt.
Published in News Daily on 05-August-2025.