Investigations: Four suspects arrested in murder case of Prof Waheedur Rehman

Dr Rehman was killed on April 29

KARACHI:

Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah disclosed on Monday the arrest of four suspects involved in the targeted killing of a Karachi University (KU) assistant professor, Dr Syed Waheedur Rehman, better known by his pen name, Yasir Rizvi.

Dr Rehman, who taught at the varsity's mass communications department, was killed on April 29, when four unidentified men on two motorcycles opened fire at him near the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) in Federal B Area's Block 16.

Around 20 days after the murder, the chief minister, flanked by Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo, assured 'justice' to a delegation comprising Prof Dr Naimatullah Laghari, the central president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa), Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser, KU vice-chancellor, and Prof Dr Syed Jameel Hasan Kazmi, the KU teachers' society president.

The chief minister, however, insisted on keeping the identities and associations of the suspects confidential, believing this might 'alert their accomplices and facilitators'.

"The police have made significant headway in the case, details of which will be made public in two weeks," Shah was quoted as saying by Dr Laghari, who shared details of the meeting with The Express Tribune. "The police have arrested three suspects from Karachi and one from the northernmost administrative territory of Gilgit-Baltistan."

However, the latter had been removed from the list of suspects after investigations, though he was still in police custody, confirmed Thebo when approached by The Express Tribune. "We intend to form a joint investigation team within the  next two days to interrogate the suspects," added the police chief while refusing to disclose further details, fearing this might hamper the 'police's work'.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2015.