ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: Officers of the Islamabad police investigating the mysterious death of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigator Kamran Faisal left for Mian Chunnu on Friday to be present at the exhumation of his body by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).

His father, Abdul Hameed, however, refused comments to Dawn on police claim that he would not allow opening of his son’s grave unless he got a fatwa from the Al Azhar University of Egypt.

“No comments,” he said repeatedly.

Meanwhile his brother, Dr Anwer Saeed, submitted an application to the Supreme Court on Friday on the issue of exhumation.

Investigating Officer Mubarak Ali said when he asked Dr Saeed about PFSA’s desire to take out the body of Kamran for further tests, he replied: “Let the Supreme Court decide (his application), then we will talk.”

Inspector Ali told Dawn that on reaching Mian Chunnu his team would see the local magistrate to know what the exhumation plans are.

Police sources say technically the authority to allow opening a grave lies with the local magistrate but in this case the request for exhumation came to the Islamabad police from the PFSA and was granted by the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad.

PFSA request letter dated January 26 reached the Islamabad police on January 29 and were greatly surprised because exhumation is done on the request of the dead’s family.

However, they forwarded it to the capital administration the same day which granted the request immediately.

That very day the Islamabad police also obliged a request from PFSA, received the day before, for the photographs of the crime scene, clothes and the band with which Kamran was supposed to have hanged himself on January 17.

These requests had followed the swirling controversy whether Kamran’s death was a suicide or murder as he was investigating the high-profile rental power scandal in which the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of over 20 accused, including Prime
Minister Pervaiz Ashraf.

A medical board stated finding “strangulation” mark on Kamran’s neck in its preliminary report on the autopsy, noting that full report could be prepared after forensic tests results are received.

But the samples of the deceased’s liver, heart, kidney, lungs and contents of his stomach, sealed and sent to the Chemical Examiner Lahore were, reportedly, found “suspect”.

Subsequently the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, which works under the Home Department of Punjab government, was brought into picture.

Police sources say there is no history of forensic experts – such as the Chief Chemical Examiner Laboratory of Punjab, Government Public Analysts Laboratories and Chemical Examiner Lahore – on their own demand the remains of a crime victim
or exhumation of his body.

Graves have been opened on the request of a victim’s family or that of relevant investigators only.

According to the sources the request for exhuming the body of Kamran should have been made to “the competent authority in Khanewal”.

They had no idea who generated the requests for clothes and other material of dead Kamran and opening his grave. Neither the police investigators, nor the medical board nor the Islamabad capital administration were behind the requests, they said.

However, there were reports about Punjab government taking interest in the investigations which some took as interference in the work of capital police.