The man was identified as 50-year-old Paramjit Singh Panjwar.

Panjwar was shot dead by gunmen riding a motorcycle while he was on a morning walk at around 6:30am near his residence in the Sunflower Housing Society. He was accompanied by his bodyguard.

Panjwar received a fatal gunshot to the head. His bodyguard was also injured in the attack, Dawn reported.

According to police authorities, the motive behind the killing is yet to be ascertained.

Last month, the Islamic State – Khorasan (IS-K) had claimed responsibility for the killing of two men belonging to the minority Sikh and Christian communities in Peshawar.

35-year-old Sikh shopkeeper, Dyal Singh, was killed when an unidentified motorcyclist opened indiscriminate fire on him in the Garhi Ata Mohammad area on the outskirts of Peshawar.

The assailant had parked his motorcycle outside Singh’s shop and fired two shots from a pistol, killing Dyal on the spot.

A day later, a member of the Christian community, Kashif Masih, was shot dead in Banaras Abad Academy Town.  Armed men had opened fire on him while he was on his way home.

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The international human rights watchdog said the Lahore High Court ruled that the Ravi River project was unconstitutional and urged the authorities to reform colonial-era laws that grant the government broad powers to acquire land for private as well as public use.

The  Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project was initiated by then-Prime Minister Imran Khan in August 2020, claiming it would address Lahore’s many problems – pollution, sewage, water, housing, and employment.

In a statement, Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Punjab provincial authorities have harassed and threatened area farmers to deprive them of their homes and livelihoods.”

“The authorities need to ensure that government projects minimize displacement and loss of income, but also minimize environmental harm and flooding risks,” she added.

According to the statement issued by the HRW, environmental groups have also raised concerns that the project’s proposed changes to the flow of the Ravi River could significantly increase the risks of flooding.

It also said the authority had interviewed 14 farmers who were threatened or evicted. It also pointed out that authorities have criminally charged more than 100 farmers with resisting or refusing to hand over the land they occupied.

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According to senior journalist Azaz Syed, the woman was allegedly contacted by the diplomat through Instagram.

The diplomat had called the Lahore-based woman to Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad, on the pretext of a job.

The journalist claimed that the diplomat kept the woman hostage for two days and sexually assaulted her.

He also said the police have refused to register a First Information Report (FIR) on the victim’s complaint. The woman has now approached a court through her lawyer for registration of the case.

According to reports, the woman’s lawyer had been denied access to the woman’s medical reports as government authorities are trying to suppress the case.

Earlier, a court in Islamabad sentenced a security guard of a private company to life imprisonment for raping a foreign national.

The verdict was given nine months after the incident.

The foreign woman was attached to a United Nations subsidiary in Islamabad.

Pakistan often ranks among the worst country for women’s security and last year in Karachi alone over 500 rape cases were reported. The number is believed to be much higher than this.

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Earlier in the day, Additional District and Sessions (ADSJ) Judge Zafar Iqbal said he would stop the Islamabad police from arresting PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case if the ex-premier surrendered in court, while urging the party and its political workers to not resist the law.

The judge had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the ex-premier after the PTI chief repeatedly failed to appear before the court.

However, when the police reached Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they were met with resistance, leading to two-day pitched battles between PTI supporters and law enforcement agencies. The clashes ultimately subsided after the courts intervened on Wednesday.

Imran Khan had claimed that he has secured protective bail from the court till March 1 but police reached to arrest him four days before the hearing. He questioned the legality of the police raid with an arrest warrant before the expiry of his protective bail.

The PTI chief had also said that he is facing threats to his life, therefore, he is reluctant to appear before the court.

But lawyers have dismissed PTI’s claims, calling it an “incorrect reading of the law and a misrepresentation of court orders”.

Legal analyst Abdul Moiz Jaferii told Dissent Today that Imran Khan is making a mockery of the judicial system by disobeying court summons and then refusing to allow police to execute warrants.

“The police are making a similar mockery of this process by using disproportionate force and making a spectacle out of what should be a simple process,” he added.

He also condemned the use of excessive force by police in implementing the court’s orders.

“Excessive force is never justified. Neither can the ignorance of court summons, no matter what the strength of the arguments may be regarding the frivolousness of the cases needing to be answered,” he said.

While responding to a question related to PTI’s claims that warrants are illegal, the lawyer said the party’s claims are not based on facts and are misinterpretations of the court’s orders.

Regarding the legal action court can take against the PTI chief for disregarding its orders, Abdul Moiz Jaferii said that “it will be up to the court to decide whether they want to escalate”. However, he added, in these circumstances, the court typically orders to ensure compliance with the police.

Earlier, in a Twitter thread lawyer Reema Omer also criticised PTI for “propaganda” and making false statements related to the court’s orders.

She shared a screenshot of Islamabad High Court orders related to Imran Khan’s arrest and said that Imran Khan’s arrest warrants were lawful and police reached Zaman Park to arrest him in compliance with the court’s orders.

She also said that Imran Khan defying the arrest was against the law.

Please read IHC order for yourself and don’t fall for PTI propaganda:

1. Trial court issued non-bailable arrest warrant

2. The warrant was lawful and it was incumbent on police to ensure IK’s presence before court

3. IK’s defiance of lawful orders contrary to the rule of law pic.twitter.com/VPjmudBpl7

— Reema Omer (@reema_omer) March 15, 2023

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Officials from law enforcement agencies have been trying to enter Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore for the last two days to arrest him in connection with the Toshkhana case. However, after the PTI chief asked his supporters to “come out on roads”, protests erupted in various cities of the country with the PTI supporters stopping security personnel from entering Imran Khan’s residence.

During the clash between the PTI supporters and security personnel outside Zaman Park, as many as 54 policemen have been injured so far.

Meanwhile, the elderly sisters of lawyer Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Dr Shireen Zafarullah and  Nasreen Khalid Cheema, approached the Lahore High Court against Imran Khan for disturbing their peace and quiet.

They maintained that Zaman Park is encroached on at multiple points, causing traffic blockade, while loud music by PTI supporters at night time is causing sleepless nights to the neighbours, The News reported.

The LHC did not entertain their petitions, saying the petitioners should approach the Justice of the Peace to pursue this matter.

The sisters approached LHC after receiving no response from Imran Khan on the protest letter they wrote to him.

The sisters had also written to a number of officials, including Punjab chief secretary, inspector general of police, Lahore commissioner and SHO of Race Course Police Station. However, they received no response from either of the parties.

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