A judicial magistrate in Karachi on Friday handed over MPA Jam Owais Gohram to police for a three-day physical remand for interrogation regarding his alleged involvement in the murder of Nazim Jokhio in Malir's Memon Goth area.
Owais, who became a provincial lawmaker on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)'s ticket, reportedly 'surrendered' to the police in the wee hours of Friday .
The MPA had given up under political pressure after more than 16 hours long sit-in on the National Highway by the family of the deceased who was allegedly tortured to death by the influential and his men
The area remained tense on Friday as a large number of political activits belonging to Sindhi nationalist parties and civil society visited the Aachar Salar Village where the horrific incident took place on Wednesday.
Sindh Chief Minsiter Syed Murad Ali along with his cabinet members also reached there to offer condolences with the family.
On his directives, DIG East zone Saqib Ismail Memon constituted an eight-member investigation team headed by Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur to probe into the killing of Nazim Jokhio.
Besides the PPP MPA, Niaz Salar - private secretary of MNA Jam Karim - and their employees Ahmed Shoro, Hyder Ali and Mahar Ali have been nominated in the murder case.
Jokhio's tortured body was found in Memon Goth on Wednesday a day after he filmed a group of foreigners hunting the endangered houbara bustard in the area.
According to the brother of the deceased, Nazim made a video of a road, that was blocked by foreigners who had come for hunting the endangered bird.
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"Nazim got into a verbal spat with the man in the car who snatched his cellphone. Nazim then made another video that went viral on social media." Afzal alleged that Sindh Assembly member Jam Awais Gohram and his personal secretary were involved in the murder of his brother. Subsequently, several people, including Jam Awais, were named in the FIR.
The wife of the deceased with her four children speaking to the media appealed to the government and court of law to bring the killers of her husband to justice.
"The MPA's guards in civvies started torturing my husband when they whisked him away in their vehicle from our home," she said adding, "We are poor people. All the state machinery supports them. We appeal to Bilawal Bhutto to provide us justice."
Sindh Taraqqi Pasan Party Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi came to the home of the bereaved family to offer condolences. Later talking to the media he referred to other incidents in the area in past during the hunting season. "These feudal lords act like servants of foreign dignitaries who come in Sindh for hunting endangered birds," Magsi said adding that they will continue protest until all killers are arrested.
CM meets victim's family
Meanwhile, Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah visited the residence of Nazim Jokhio in Achar Salar, Malir, to meet the family of the deceased and express condolences.
The chief minister assured that the family will get justice at all costs. He said he had asked the police to facilitate the deceased's family in getting the FIR registered as per their demand.
The CM was accompanied by provincial ministers Saeed Ghani, Imtiaz Sheikh, Sajid Jokhio and MPA Riaz Shah Shirazi.
Talking to the media, the CM said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) representatives were adding fuel to fire to hide their own incompetence.
Responding to a question about hike in fuel price, Shah said, the federal government announced to increase petrol price by another Rs8.14 per litre making it Rs145.82 per litre. "This is the relief the prime minister has given to the poor people of the country," he said criticising PM Imran Khan. The price of atta, sugar, vegetables, pulses, tomato, potato, and onion have gone out of the purchasing power of the people and what to talk about chicken and mutton which has become totally unaffordable.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2021.
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