Police to investigate officials over PIA employee deaths

The five officials are accused of plotting to kill the protesters, although not of opening fire themselves

KARACHI: Police will investigate five officials, including a former adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for murder after two airline employees were shot dead during a protest against privatisation.

The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) employees were killed and several more wounded at Karachi's international airport on Tuesday when clashes broke out between security forces and staff, though authorities denied opening fire.

Police on Saturday registered a case against one federal cabinet minister, a senator, a former advisor to Sharif and two airline officials on the complaint of PIA employees' Joint Action Committee, accusing them of murder and torture, senior police official Rao Anwar told AFP.



"An investigation team is being constituted to take further action," he added.

The five are accused of plotting to kill the protesters, although not of opening fire themselves.

The authorities claim the victims were shot by gunmen in the crowd.

Suspect in PIA employees firing case presented before media

A man suspected of opening fire during a protest of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees against proposed privatisation of the national flag carrier was presented before the media on Saturday.

Earlier, Rangers released a video in which they highlighted the prime suspect in the killing of two PIA employees.

The PIA Employees Joint Action Committee presented Mir Wasiq Ali, an employee of the fire department, before the media, identifying him as the man in the video. Wasiq was present with his family.



On February 2, two people were killed and eight people were injured when security personnel clashed with protesters rallying against the government’s plans to privatise the ailing national carrier.

Protesters said paramilitary forces fired after a confrontation as they tried to block them from reaching near the airport in Karachi.

A Rangers spokesperson and a senior police officer, however, denied taking responsibility for the deaths, claiming their personnel had not opened fired.