Barkhan protesters continue sit-in against gruesome murders
Pakistan
The minister leveled allegations against his son
QUETTA (Dunya News) - Hundreds of protesters are still staging sit-in in the provincial capital against the gruesome murders of a woman and two children.
The Barkhan police raided the residential property of Balochistan Minister for Communication and Works Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran on late Tuesday after a protest over recovery of three bodies from a well.
The raid followed a sit-in by hundreds of Marri tribesmen at Red Zone in Quetta, alongside three bodies.
The situation, which also led to heated debate on the floor of the provincial assembly, stemmed from the discovery of three bodies late on Monday night – said to be the wife and two sons of one Khan Muhammad Marri.
“These are the bodies of my wife and two sons who were kept in a private jail in Haji Kot for the last four years,” he said, identifying them as his 40-year-old wife Granaz, and sons Muhammad Anwar (22) and Abdul Qadir (15).
Meanwhile, the issue echoed in the Balochistan Assembly, where both treasury and opposition members strongly condemned the killing of the woman and her two sons in such a cruel manner.
Mir Arif Jan Muhammad Hasni, speaking on a point of order, termed it an inhumane act that went against religion and tribal customs.
Education Minister Mir Nasibullah Marri staged a walkout from the house and demanded the arrest of the people involved in this brutal act.
Marri, who was once employed as a security guard with a provincial minister, alleged that his wife and sons were being held in the private jail of Sardar Khetran, adding that five more of his children, including his 13-year-old daughter, were still languishing there.
-- Minister alleges son's involvement --
On the other hand, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran denied the allegations and blamed one of his sons, Inam Shah, for the conspiracy.
Rejecting the charge of killing three people and running a private prison, he said a conspiracy had been hatched to damage his reputation.
The minister said there is a nefarious attempt to deprive them of the right of regional politics, some elements are conspiring against them to destroy the peace of the region.
He claimed that Inam recorded the woman's statement and that he wanted to become a Sardar.
Khetran said he was ready to appear in the investigation and won't resign.
