MQM blames PM for Fasih's killing
By Our Reporter

KARACHI, May 3: Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Monday accused the prime minister of having a role in the custodial death of Fasih Ahmed Jugnu and demanded that a case be registered against him.

"Since the prime minister had admitted in his press conference that he had himself got the matter investigated, we are justified in claiming that Fasih Jugnu was killed at the behest of the prime minister against whom first murder case should be registered," said Dr Farooq Sattar, leader of the MQM parliamentary party in the Sindh Assembly, at a news conference at Karachi Press Club.

Dr Farooq Sattar, flanked by Kunwar Khalid Yunus and Mohammed Hussain, demanded that a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge investigate "evidence" of death by torture.

He said that the prosecuting and investigating agency should be independent of the influence of the federal government and of the agencies under the influence of the prime minister.

He demanded that police officials, identified by him, be immediately taken into custody by some other agency, for the sake of their own safety so that they did not meet the fate of Haq Nawaz Sial of Murtaza Bhutto murder case.

Safety of those allegedly involved in the custodial death of Fasih Jugnu was essential because they could also be important sources of exposing the real killers of Hakim Said, he said.

Dr Farooq Sattar claimed that recent reports in this regard had also nullified the prime minister's allegation that the MQM was involved in the high-profile murder of Hakim Said and also the claim of interior minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who had denied that any extra-judicial killing had taken place in Karachi.

The police officials allegedly involved in Fasih Jugnu's custodial death were identified by Dr Farooq Sattar as DSP Ghulam Subhani, inspector Javed Anjum, SI Ghulam Raza, ASI Arshad Butt, ASI Pir Bakhsh, SIs Ghulam Ahsan Zulfiqar, Mumtaz Hussain, Saghir Dahri, Shoaib Ali, head constables Arshad Hussain, Nizamuddin, constables Shahzad, Mohammed Azam, Mohammed Hussain, Ashiq Hussain, Mohammed Akram, Mazhar Farooq and Musheer.

Dr Sattar alleged that those who conspired to impose governor's rule on Sindh in order to corner the MQM had been relentlessly trying to tarnish the image of the party by dubbing it as a terrorist party.

He claimed that he had credible information that judicial and administrative inquiries into the custodial death of Fasih Jugnu, who had been arrested on October 23, 1998, and had died on the same day in police custody, were almost complete.

He said that what was now being reported had vindicated MQM's allegations against the police and the mala fide intentions of the government in involving the party in heinous crimes.

Dr Sattar demanded of the President, the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief of the Army Staff not only to ensure that extra-judicial killings were not repeated but the officials involved in such incidents were exposed and given exemplary punishment.

He said that only the governor's orders were not enough, what was important that the culprits were really taken to task and punished.

Kunwar Khalid Yunus alleged that many of the police officials accused of complicity in the custodial death of Jugnu and others would be participating in the so-called walk the administration had planned in North Nazimabad on Tuesday.

The MQM leaders also cited the extra-judicial killing of Mubashar Ali, Arman Danish, Israr Ahmed, Mohammed Anwer, Abdul Sattar Baluch, Gul Mohammed, Fareed Ahmed Khan, Shamim Ahmed Khan and Jamil Ahmed.