Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the residence of Pakistan's Supreme Court judge Ijaz ul Ahsan here in two separate incidents only hours apart, media reports said today.
A statement by the apex court said that the unidentified gunmen opened fire at Justice Ahsan's Model Town residence first late last night and then again early this morning.
No casualties were reported in the attacks, Dawn reported.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar visited the residence of the Justice Ahsan, and called the Punjab inspector general to probe the incidents. The chief justice is said to be overseeing the situation himself, the paper said.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered immediate arrests of the attackers. He also asked the Punjab inspector general (IG) to submit a report on the incident.
Security personnel, including Rangers, have been deployed outside the residence of the judge.
"This is a highly condemnable incident. We are trying our best to arrest the attackers and a thorough investigation is underway," Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmad Khan was quoted as saying.
He said that additional security has been provided to the Supreme Court judge.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) condemned the firing incidents and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
Pakistan People's Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari termed the attacks alarming and called for a judicial probe.
Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan "strongly condemned" the incidents and claimed that they were "tactics to pressurise senior judiciary".
Justice Ahsan was appointed as the monitoring judge to supervise and monitor the implementation of the Panamagate case verdict and oversee the ongoing proceedings by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and accountability courts against the Sharif family members and Ishaq Dar.
He was also part of the three-member bench hearing 17 petitions against the controversial Elections Act 2017. The bench had ruled that an individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution cannot serve as head of a political party, leading to Sharif losing his position as the party chief.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)