The young man from Hunza who was shot dead by the police in Karachi on January 3 was killed in a fake encounter, according to the report of the inquiry into the incident.

The shoot-out, which had taken place in the jurisdiction of the SITE A-Section police station, has been declared fake and the deceased youth named Sultan Nazir found innocent.

A source privy to the matter said that District Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur had been inquiring into the matter, and that he had completed his inquiry report, which confirmed that Nazir was innocent and killed in a fake encounter. The report will be submitted to the Karachi police chief within two days.

Nazir had been on his way home riding pillion on a hired motorbike when he was attacked by two police officials, namely Shabir and Jahangir, at a filling station.

When the policemen started firing shots, the motorbike driver began running and Nazir followed suit. Seeing both the men running, the police officials targeted them, resulting in the death of Nazir, who hailed from Hunza.

The police officials have reportedly escaped from Sindh, while a case has been registered against them under murder and terrorism charges. In his report, SSP Bahadur has recommended stern action against the policemen responsible for the fake encounter.

The victim’s family had earlier expressed concerns over the pace of the investigation. Salimullah, an older cousin of Nazir’s, said that the police had not contacted him since the registration of the FIR, and that their family was not satisfied with the investigation.

“He [Nazir] was a scout and has been buried in his home town with full honour,” said Salimullah, expressing disgust over the initial claim of the police that the victim was a robber who was killed in an exchange of fire with the police in the SITE Area. “Would a robber hire [a motorbike-hailing service] to mug people?”

He said that on January 3, he himself had booked a ride on his mobile phone for Nazir for sending him home in the Garden neighbourhood from Metroville, where the family had gathered for the Soyem of a relative. He added that he did not find out about the incident until the next day.

“On [January 4], I received a call from his family that they could not contact him, and that he had not reached his flat since leaving [the day before]. I immediately called the [ride-hailing service] driver, who told me that a firing incident had occurred on their way, after which they got separated.”

Salimullah said that after speaking to the people on the spot, he went to the SITE-A police station, where the officials on duty kept him waiting for two hours until the SHO arrived. He said that the SHO told him that they had killed a robber the day before. “Soon after hearing that, I protested over his claim, but the officer did not listen to me and walked away.”

The cousin said that Nazir had come to Karachi from Hunza a couple of years ago and had been running a small garments shop in Saddar with the help of his brother. He said that the victim had been studying for his BCom degree, and was of good character.

“The entire Gilgit-Baltistan is in anger over what the Sindh police have done,” he said, referring to the photographs and video clips of Nazir’s funeral shared on social media. “He was a boy scout, a responsible person and a social activist. Labelling him a robber is an insult to his services for society.”

report in The News, February 16, 2021
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/790503-encounter-that-claimed-hunza-youth-s-life-was-fake-says-inquiry-report