Hazara protest enters third day
Mourners at the Western Bypass area continue to protest for the third consecutive day against the brutal killing of eleven Hazara Shia Muslim Miners in Mach, Balochistan. Thousands of protesters blocked the highway with coffins with the bodies of the victims, demanding the immediate arrest and punishment of the killers, as well as the removal of the coalition government of Balochistan for failing to ensure safety to its citizens.
Protesters maintained that they will not bury the dead unless their demands were met. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari on Tuesday, January 5, met the protesters to assuage their concerns but fail to reach an agreement. Previously, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid also attempted to initiate negotiations with the aggrieved, promising Rs. 2.5 million for each of the affected families, however protesters refused to disperse and called for the Prime Minister Imran Khan to reach the demonstration.
ASI dismissed for firing warning shot
An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Islamabad was dismissed from service for misconduct and negligence after he accosted a citizen outside his area of jurisdiction.
The ASI had abandoned his station in H-9 Weekly Bazaar to intercept a car in I-10/3 whose driver was allegedly carrying meth, according to a tip-off received by the officer. The ASI reportedly pulled his gun to threaten the driver into compliance when he refused a body search, and then fired a warning shot on the ground. The man continued to resist, eventually escaping on foot.
The incident came to light via a video of the incident uploaded to social media. Upon further inquiry, it was revealed that the ASI failed to inform his supervising officers and neither filed the case in the police registry.
Man sentenced to death for killing sister
On Tuesday, an additional district and sessions magistrate in Jand tehsil, Attock district, handed down the death sentence to one Anwar Abbas for murdering his 37-year-old sister Samina over a domestic dispute on June 12, 2020. The accused was also told to pay a Rs. 500,000 which would be awarded to the deceased’s minor children – failure to pay the bond would lead to an additional six months in prison.
