HYDERABAD: A group of youths calling itself the ‘Sindh Youth Action Committee’ has announced its intention to hold a sit-in in Umerkot on Wednesday (Sept 25) along with the bereaved family members of Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar, a blasphemy suspect killed by police in an alleged encounter, if those who had torched his body were not booked.

Speaking at a news conference at the local press club on Monday, the committee members, Sindhu Nawaz Ghangro, Hamz Ali Chandio, Shahid Mirani, Ali Ajiz and others, alleged that the removed senior police officers — DIG of Mirpurkhas and SSPs of Mirpurkhas and Umerkot — were directly involved in Dr Kunbhar’s extrajudicial killing. Therefore, they said, these officers should be arrested and the case be investigated by an impartial officer.

They said that some extremists were bent upon destroying peace in Sindh. They said terrorism and extremism could only be countered with mystic teachings. People of Sindh had never accepted extremist and terrorist tendencies, they said.

Youth committee demands FIR against DIG, two SSPs in custodial killing case

They told journalists that civil society activists had gathered in Umerkot on Sunday and offered their condolences to the bereaved family members of Dr Shah Nawaz. They regretted that the bereaved family was demanding justice but nobody was listening to them.

They said that the FIR of Dr Shah Nawaz’s custodial killing should be registered without any further delay against these senior police officers. They urged Sindh-based civil society organisations to participate in the Sept 25 sit-in.

They said the bereaved family was being subjected to mental torture ever since the doctor’s murder. They claimed that the police were forcing them to give statements of their [police’s] choice, and added that the bereaved family had shared some videos and an evidence in support of their claim.

According to the doctor’s family, they had not given any statement to the police, the committee said.

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The committee members claimed that Dr Shah Nawaz was “kidnapped”, and not “arrested” in Karachi. They said statements of police officers were on record in this regard in which they had called religious people to lodge an FIR. They argued that if it was true that Dr Shah Nawaz was arrested, then he should have been produced in a court of law.

They said that even if the charge of blasphemy against him had been proved, then he should have been punished as per law.

They deplored that he was extrajudicially killed and then handed over to a mob.

They said police were directly involved in this crime, and added that Sindh High Court, Sindh government and Supreme Court should have taken notice of it.

Meanwhile, a ‘Joint Action Committee’ which met here on Monday at the regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), urged Sindh government to ensure protection to the family members of Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar.

The JAC demanded a judicial inquiry, headed by a sitting judge of the Sindh High Court, and said those responsible for the murder, besides extremist groups and police officials, should be held accountable on the basis of social media evidence.

The JAC decided to send its delegation to Umerkot on Tuesday (Sept 24) to offer its condolences to the bereaved family.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024