Acid thrower?: Bilal Khar denies accusations, pleads innocence

Fakhra Yunus was used to create a false case against me to earn money, says former MPA.

Denying that he ever threw acid on his deceased wife Fakhra Yunus, former MPA Bilal Khar said he was not even in Karachi at the time when the incident took place.

“I was in Lahore when this happened and I read about it in a newspaper,” Bilal said.

Speaking to Express News, Bilal accused the “ladies”, who helped Fakhra take refuge in Italy of establishing a false case against him "just to earn money" from humanitarian organisations.

“They got my name involved because they knew they would get funds only if a big name was involved in the case,” he accused.

“Acid-throwing incidents are very common in Pakistan but do you see any media trial done against those accused like it is done against me? Media is doing so only because I am a known person,” he said.

Framing the 'bad wadera'?

Responding to the fact that Fakhra had always blamed Bilal for the crime, the former MPA said she had no choice. “The entire case was built around the bad wadera notion; she couldn’t back out,” he said, adding that she would not have been allowed to live in Italy.

Rejecting the claim that he had pressurised Fakhra’s family to take back the case against him, Bilal said he had no power over this.

“Do you think I am a thug or what?” he questioned.

“I had spent time in jail, I had fought the case against me and the judiciary declared me innocent. If I’m still a culprit then your judiciary was wrong,” he added.

Questions for the MQM

While criticising MQM’s current agitation regarding the incident, he questioned why Governor of Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan who was in power when he was declared innocent in the case, had not protested along with other MQM members against the court decision at that time.

When asked why he himself had not filed a case for his wife, Bilal said Fakhra was not his wife then.

“I had verbally given her divorce but the documentation was not done,” he said, adding that before he could do anything he was already named in that case as an accused.

Bilal said "If Fakhra had to commit suicide because of me, she would have done it 12 years ago."

'Financial woes led to suicide'

He claimed that the real reason behind the suicide was her financial situation.

“The money she received from the Italian government was very little and the rest of the money was usurped by her well-wishers who fought the fake case against me,” he alleged.

Bilal accepted he avoided case investigation because “the incident happened during Pervez Musharraf’s government and my father was the only politician who was opposing his rule, hence I expected no justice.”

However, Bilal added that he was arrested and was tried.

“The petitioners [Fakhra’s family] had themselves stated in the court that I was not involved,” Bilal said. He further added that the physical description of the attacker provided by Fakhra’s family didn’t match to what he looks like.

The former MPA also raised the question if he was the attacker, why did Fakhra live with him for four months after the incident.

“Fakhra left for Italy from my house, my father was present there too,” he claimed.

Bilal mentioned that Tehmina Durrani had agreed to help Fakhra for further surgeries abroad. “Fakhra and I were not in favour of this arrangement,” he added.

He also said that he had not maintained contact with her, nor did he financially support her.

Requesting media to be considerate towards him, Bilal argued that “I have three daughters and they are harassed at school because of this."