KARACHI: Former Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani on Sunday claimed that police carried out a raid on the residence of his elder brother and former caretaker Balochistan chief minister Saleh Bhootani in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) without any cause.

While a senior officer of the Karachi police denied conducting any such action, a statement issued by Mr Bhootani said that a contingent of Hub and Karachi police comprising around 40-50 men, along with lady constables, raided the DHA residence of Saleh Bhootani.

“They barged in breaking windows and glass, and forcefully took away four of his guards,” the former speaker stated. “After this, the same group [police] raided the rented house where Saleh currently resides. Despite him informing the police that his sons were not at home, they continued their search,” he added.

“All of this is happening without any just cause. My only ‘crime’ is protecting the land of the poor — 15,000 acres in the Winder Dam command area — that AZ had illegally acquired under benami transactions,” he said, without taking any names.

“I fought for justice through the Balochistan High Court and succeeded in stopping him. Beyond that, I hold no enmity against anyone,” he added.

When contacted, DIG-South Syed Asad Raza said: “No such raid was carried out by police last night within the remit of the DHA, Karachi. No official of the Balochistan police contacted local authorities for any such raid.”

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024