LARKANA: A 55-year-old woman and her 25-year-old maternal grandchild were shot dead in their house in Ayoub Colony, within the jurisdiction of Larkana’s Haideri police station on Tuesday. A 30-year-old woman member of the family was also wounded in the attack.

The deceased women were identified as Raheeman Khatyan and her grandchild, Sidra Khatyan. The wounded victim, Dua Khatyan, was admitted to the Trauma Centre, where her condition was stated to be out of danger.

The Haideri police believed that the attack was linked to a domestic issue as the bereav­ed family accused Zulfikar Buledi, the husband of deceased Haleema Khatyan’s daughter, Sultana Khatyan, of having carried out the attack along with some of his associates.

Haleema’s sons told the media that their sister, Sultana, intended to file a Khula application in a local court on Tuesday but the family was attacked by the Buledis.

Ghulam Mohiuddin, Tariq, Raza Hussain and Taufeeq Ahmed were speaking to local reporters at a protest demonstration held by the bereaved family and their relatives over the attack on their house. They said that the family originally hailed from Mohammed Taqi Khatyan village, situated near Mirpur Bhutto, within Larkana district. Taufeeq Ahmed said he lived in the Ayoub Colony house, where the attack was carried out. He said Sultana was married off to Zulfikar Buledi about 13 years back and the couple had been living in Qambar town but a few years later Buledis had to move to a place near Usta Mohammad town, in Balochistan, after Zulfikar was accused of having killed one of his close relatives.

Taufeeq said that his sister had been complaining of her husband’s violent attitude with her. Sultana had to leave him and approach Larkana’s women police station for protection and eventually she was sent to Darul Aman on October 13. “A few days back, she moved to our home to live with us and was to file a Khula application in a family court today (Tuesday),” Rafique Khatyan said.

The brothers claimed that Zulfikar Buledi along with his armed associates broke into the house and opened an indiscriminate fire on their mother, Reheeman Khatyan, and others present inside, leaving her and Sidra Khatyan dead and Dua Khatyan wounded.

The attackers fled the area after committing the crime, they said.

As soon as the women’s bodies were handed over to the heirs after medico-legal formalities, the bereaved family and their relatives took the bodies to the Larkana SSP’s office and held a noisy protest outside. The road running parallel to the office remained blocked during the course of the protest. The protesters were chanting slogans for the arrest of killers. DSP Ms Paras Bakhrani and SHO Sartaj Jagirani of the Market police station held negotiations with the protesters to pacify them. They finally persuaded them to clear the road and disperse peacefully, promising that the killers would be arrested at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024