August 17th, 2020

                                                        By Haider Kaleem

Turbat;

The civil society in Quetta, Karachi, and Turbat has protested the murder of Muhammad Hayat Mirza by a soldier of the Frontier Corps on Thursday in the Absar area of Turbat Balochistan.

Turbat


Quetta

 

Karachi

 

Hayat Mirza, a student of Karachi University (KU) was shot eight times in Turbat, Kech district of Balochistan on Thursday, August 13. After news of the incident went viral on social media, the FC authorities handed over their soldier Shahidullah to the police for investigations on Friday.

On Sunday, the family of Hayat Mirza sat in a press conference with the SSP Kech Najeebullah Pandrani to share that the police response was timely but initially they had failed to nominate the FC personnel involved in the incident despite several witnesses.

“If a tax paying, law abiding citizen’s rights are violated in Pakistan, whether by a civilian or any state institution, we will respond as expected and this can also be confirmed by the family of the deceased” said Pandrani.

Hayat Mirza’s cousin Muhammad Asif said the District Police Officer Turbat had reached our house before we came back from his cousin’s funeral.

“We are so far satisfied with the investigations but we expect speedy justice from the police and courts in the case of a clear murder of Hayat”, he added.

This is the second time in a short time period that this kind of reaction has emerged in Balochistan over an extra judicial killing. Previously such protests were organized after a woman in the Kech area of Turbat, Balochistan named Malak Naaz was shot dead for resisting their robbery attempt, while her four-year daughter, Bramsh, was severely injured with bullet wounds.

Now the protests to express outrage and concern about an extra judicial killing of Hayat Mirza are also organized by the Bramsh Baloch Solidarity Committee in different parts of Balochistan to emphasize on how this is not an isolated incident.

But Hayat’s brother, Muhammad Murad Baloch says they have not been a part of these recent protests because solider who shot Hayat has been arrested and sent on a phsyical remand.

Talking to Voicepk.net, Murad Baloch said “the bearded soldier in white clothes shot Hayat several times and then came for his father but the other soldiers intervened and told Shahidullah not to kill our father”.

“I saw that my parents were sitting next to my brother Hayat’s body in a pool of blood after the two FC soldiers dragged and then blindfolded him with our mother’s scarf before they shot him in the head” added Baloch who is also an employee of the health department of Balochistan.

The deceased student had come home to protect himself from COVID-19 after his university campus had closed due to the lockdown in March and had started working in his father’s date orchard in the Absar area of Turbat, Balochistan.

Hayat’s father will be appearing in district and sessions courts tomorrow for the hearing of his son’s murder case. He is very hopeful to get speedy justice.

According to a press release issued by the Turbat police, the FC soldier was handed over to the SHO Turbat according to the law, he was arrested and taken on a 7 day physical remand which was allowed by the magistrate. After recording the statements of the eye witnesses and completion of the investigation, the police will put up a challan on Shahidullah to court upon hearing.

 

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