M RAFIQUE GORAYA

Lahore: Unidentified people fired multiple gunshots twice at the residence of high profile Supreme Court Judge Justice Ejaz ul Ahsan in 12 hours on Sunday near the Model Town residences of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz. The incident has triggered all sorts of speculations across the country as rangers have been deployed at the judge’s residence.

Justice Ahsan often spends weekends in Lahore, his hometown, where he, along with the chief justice, presides over several cases related to public welfare issues and other matters at Supreme Court’s Lahore registry. Justice Ahsan is also the monitoring judge of the ongoing corruption cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He was part of the five- member Supreme Court bench which disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case last year. 

A statement by the apex court revealed that the judge’s Model Town residence was struck by bullets first late last night and then again early morning on Sunday. Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar arrived at the residence of his fellow judge after the incident and is overseeing the situation, the statement by the apex court added. He has ordered Inspector General Police Punjab to investigate the firing incident. Similarly, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and directed the Punjab inspector general to bring the culprits to book.