Chaudhry Mehmood Akhtar, a former judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC), was shot dead in the jurisdiction of Jatli police station in Chakwal on Tuesday.

Police said the former LHC judge was on his way back to Chakwal from his native town. When he reached Tarkawal Mor near Jatli, some unidentified armed attackers opened fire on his car.

As a result, Akhtar died on the spot while his niece Sajjida received bullet injuries.

Upon receiving information of the incident, the Rescue-1122 team rushed to the scene and shifted the body to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Gujjar Khan, while the injured was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital, Chakwal.

The Rawalpindi police chief took notice of the incident and formed two teams to probe the murder which will be headed by Station House Officer (SHO) Mandra and SHO Jatli, respectively.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry expressed regret and condemned the killing of the former judge. He provided assurances that those behind the murder will be brought to justice soon.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bar Council also condemned the incident, which "raises questions on the blatant failure of security and law enforcement agencies".

"For such an incident to occur on such a busy thoroughfare is a failure of law enforcement agencies," members of the council said.

The council's vice chairman called on the authorities to take concrete measures and bring improvements to the security provided to citizens.

"The suspects must be arrested immediately," he asserted.