The business deal that cost a life

Abrar Khan was killed by police firing on July 10 while selling a mobile phone

KARACHI: I have never had an interest in working for anyone else and have always wanted to run a business. These were the final words Abrar Khan said to his family before leaving for Saddar on the fateful night of July 10.

"You should rest. From now on your son will take care of you," Abrar told his elderly father Azam Khan hours before he was shot dead by police in Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society on the night of July 10.





Azam works at an electronics shop in Jackson Market but Abrar wanted his father to quit his job due to his age and let his son support him. Twenty-three-year-old Abrar was Azam's youngest son. He was born into a middle-class family and lived in a small rented two-room apartment in Keamari but dreamed of much more.

"I have an elder son and a daughter but since childhood, [Abrar] was different. He wished to do something different and big for our family," recalled a teary-eyed Azam. "Business, business and more business! Every time he spoke it was about starting a business. He used to buy and sell mobile phones, believing it to be a business but who knew that his much-loved business would cost him his life," said Azam.

Abrar was preparing to start his own mobile phone shop to support his family. "Abbu, I will give you good news soon," was what Abrar had told his father. "He never shared the good news with us. His friends later told us that his plan was to start his mobile phone shop."

The family is demanding justice for their son and says that whoever killed Abrar should be punished with death. "I lost my brother, my friend. He was a friend for me more than a brother," cried Abrar's brother Waqar. "Blood is for blood. We will not accept negotiations or any kind of deal over the murder of my brother."



Abrar's friends who had met him minutes before his untimely death are grief stricken. They have only one question: why did the police open indiscriminate fire at a car when there was not a single round fired from it? "It's our fault, we were unable to stop him for going for the deal," lamented Sheharyar - one of the two friends who went with Abrar to sell the mobile phone. "We tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen because he made a promise to the buyer and did not want to break his promise."

The incident

Abrar's killing was one that shocked the city. Abrar was shot dead on the night of July 10 by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) cops in civvies as they opened fire on a car at Sindhi Muslim Society. Abrar had reached an agreement to sell his mobile phone to Dil Nawaz after placing an advertisement on a website. The two mutually decided upon a location in Saddar to complete the transaction.

The CTD cops and Nawaz are on physical remand in police custody.

"The case is simple and clear; we have nominated Nawaz in the murder case as he could have stopped the car when the CTD cops were chasing and opening fire but he intended to kill the victim by police firing," explained investigation officer inspector Muhammad Fareed. "We have also recorded the statements of the witnesses, family and friends and the culprits have confessed to the crime." The officer said that the police would soon submit a charge-sheet in court.



"We didn't intend to kill anyone, it happened by mistake," said one of the arrested cops, Kaleemullah. "The gun was on automatic and I had no idea that it was. Before I could pull my finger off the trigger, all the bullets had been fired."



Similarly, Nawaz also attempted to defend himself. "It was not my mistake. It was Abrar's as he forcibly hung onto my car despite our deal being finalised. The cops are also responsible," he claimed. "I survived the firing and lost my car as well. Who will be held responsible for this?" he asked. He claimed that due to the policemen's intense firing, he had no chance to stop the car.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2016.