Supreme Court additional registrar shot dead

Unknown gunmen shot dead Syed Hamad Amjad Raza, a DMG officer, working on deputation in the Supreme Court of Pakistan as Additional Registrar, at his residence in the early hours here on Monday.
The Acting Chief Justice, Justice Rana Bhagwandas, visited the residence of the deceased and offered condolences to the bereaved family. Later, other judges also visited the residence of the deceased and offered heart-felt condolences. A spokesman for the Supreme Court said the acting chief justice and the judges were deeply grieved on his sad demise.
They appreciated the valuable services rendered by Syed Hamad Amjad Raza, as Additional Registrar in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and observed that the deceased was an honest, hardworking, intelligent, and committed officer, besides being polite. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry also visited the residence of the deceased officer and condoled with the bereaved family.
His body was taken to Lahore for burial.
Agencies add: Syed Hammad Raza was regarded as a key witness by the legal team representing Pakistan's suspended chief justice in his fight against a move by President Pervez Musharraf to sack him. He was shot at point-blank range by two or three gunmen. "He was an important person in our case," Munir Ahmed Malik, a lawyer on suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's legal team, told Reuters.
Raza was briefly detained on March 9 the day Chaudhry was suspended, Malik said. "Investigations are going on. Presently, we don't know about the motive," a police official said. Raza was stationed in Quetta, where Chaudhry was raised and served as a judge, before being reassigned to the Supreme Court.
Hammad Raza was transferred from Quetta to Islamabad after Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry became Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan. He was the sincere and devoted Staff Officer of the Chief Justice.
"You called him to Islamabad. You should have protected him, and now my children need protection as well," Shadana, Raza's grief-stricken widow, told Chaudhry. Shadana told Reuters that she was convinced it was a targeted killing as there was no attempt at robbery. "They just came and shot him. He opened the door and they shot him and ran away."
The Supreme Court has put a stay on an inquiry being heard by a panel of judges, known as the Supreme Judicial Council. A judge, who visited Raza's residence in Islamabad, told reporters the Supreme Court had summoned police officials on Tuesday to know how swiftly they responded to the killing.
"For a common man, it is a matter of great insecurity," Justice Javed Iqbal said. She has expressed her dissatisfaction over the sincerity of Pakistani investigating agencies sought legal aid from British Higher Commission.
British High Commission officials have visited the dead man's family at the behest of his widow, who says she holds British citizenship.