Senate panel briefed on Turbat youth murder

FC Balochistan IG says paramilitary soldier involved in murder has been booked

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate panel on human rights on Thursday sought details of the progress made so far in the murder case of a Baloch youth in Turbat last month.

The Senate Functional Committee met under the chair of Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar at the Parliament House.

Khokhar noted that the murder of the Hayat Baloch, a student of the University of Karachi, in Turbat, Balochistan was a grave issue for the entire country.

“The entire nation is saddened after watching the pictures of Hayat Baloch on social media,” he noted. “Such harrowing incidents bring embarrassment to the country.”

The Frontier Corps Balochistan IG told the committee that the youth’s murder was an individual act.

Giving details, he said two FC vehicles were passing through an area in Turbat when a bomb planted on a nearby motorcycle exploded, injuring three personnel of the paramilitary force.

FC personnel cordoned off the area and started a search operation to find the attackers.

The IG said Hayat and his father were working at a nearby farm. FC personnel took Hayat aside for questioning but one of the paramilitary soldiers, Shadiullah Khan, fired gunshots upon him.

The IG said the other FC personnel took Shadiullah into custody and confiscated his weapon. A case has also been registered against him, he added. “This was an individual criminal act as none of the other 14 FC personnel present there fired at the young man.”

The FC Balochistan IG said the rogue paramilitary soldier would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

On August 20, Home Minister Mir Zia Langove said that the FC personnel involved in the murder of Hayat had been taken into custody and handed over to the police.

The minister claimed that justice prevailed in the case of Hayat as killers of the innocent boy were arrested from the crime scene and handed over to the regional police from FC authorities.

“IG FC South met the deceased family and assured solidarity with them. It is not appropriate to blame the entire institution. Security forces have been performing their role with full dedication and devotion in the province.”

The committee also took up the issue of the online harassment faced by PML-N MNA Romina Khurshid Alam.

The MNA told the committee that she was trolled online for changing her faith even though she had decided to convert out of her own free will.

The “enforced disappearance” of the husband of social activist Amna Masood Janjua and torture case of a young man named Shehryar in Hazara, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was also discussed.