KARACHI, March 15: Prominent Baloch leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri is safe and at present living with his family at the residence of his son-in-law in Karachi, according to family sources.

When contacted to comment on reports about the arrest of the chief of the Marri tribe, Balochistan National Party leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who is a close relative of Nawab Marri, said that being informed on Tuesday that the Nawab and his guards had been picked up by police, he went to the area police station.

“However, we were told that neither Nawab Marri nor his guards had been arrested.”

Sardar Akhtar Mengal said that a van from Gizri police station had arrived between 3pm and 3.30pm at the Mengal House.

He said the police picked up the guards and the Nawab but half an hour later brought them back to the house.

The BNP chief termed the incident an act of harassment, saying that it could be a rehearsal for a major incident which the government might be planning. However, he said the government could not pressurise them with such tactics.