J&K Bar Association President And Lawyer Mian Qayoom Arrested In Connection With Advocate Babar Qadri’s Murder

Mian Qayoom has been summoned and detained by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) regarding Babar Qadri’s murder case from September 2020, J&K police to reveal further details after Qayoom’s questioning on the case

Babar Qadri’s Murder Case Resurfaces Upon Mian Qayoom’s Arrest

Former J&K Bar Association president and lawyer Mian Qayoom has been arrested in association with the murder of Kashmiri advocate Babar Qadri in September 2020, by the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) wing department. Babar Qadri was an advocate at Srinagar High Court as well as a TV news channel panelist. He was shot dead in his 30s by 2 people who visited him as clients at his Hawal Srinagar residence. The two unidentified men came pretending to discuss a case with Qadri. They later shot Qadri and ran away.

J&K Police And Team Investigates The Case, Offered Cash Reward Of Rs. 10 Lakh

The Jammu and Kashmir police set up a special team to investigate the murder case in August 2021 with five suspects. The police suspected Saqib Manzoor, deputy to Abbas Sheikh (chief commander of The Residence Front), was also involved in the murder. The two were apparently part of a shadow group called Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), and both were later shot dead by special forces in 2021. The police then carried out raids at three lawyers’ residentials including Qayoom’s in 2022. During the raids, the police seized the lawyer’s electronic devices and a few documents from their residences. Following this in 2023, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) set forth a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to anyone who provides information on any of the suspects concerning the advocate’s murder.

Babar Qadri, A Vocal Critic Of The Bar Association, Threatened Qayoom’s Life Three Days Before Murder

Babar Qadri, son of Mohd. Yasin Qadri was known to be a vocal critic of the High Court Bar Association, especially towards Qayoom. Reportedly, he even claimed a threat to Qayoom’s life three days before he was killed at his house. Further in the case, Mian Qayoom was arrested on June 25, Tuesday’s morning. He was summoned and detained at the State Investigation Agency’s office at Humhama, Srinagar. As president of the Bar Association, Mian Qayoom has been detained several times before by the police and has been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Qayoom is the father-in-law of the sitting High Court judge justice, Javid Iqbal, who has also represented a case against Qayoom once, in the Habeas Corpus petition. The J&K police further reported that details on the case will be revealed upon Qayoom’s questioning regarding Babar Qadri’s murder.