Govt dissolves committee probing Saulat Mirza's death-cell video

Published March 25, 2015
Mirza had said workers like him were used like “tissue papers” by MQM, and were disposed off when there was no use left for the party.- DawnNews screengrab
Mirza had said workers like him were used like “tissue papers” by MQM, and were disposed off when there was no use left for the party.- DawnNews screengrab

QUETTA: Balochistan government on Wednesday dissolved the committee formed to investigate the video recording of Saulat Mirza, a condemned prisoner currently on death row in Machh Jail.

Sources in Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department confirmed that the committee was dissolved following issuance of a new death warrant by an Anti Terrorist Court (ATC).

The ATC has fixed April 1 as the fresh date of execution of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker Saulat Mirza. "There is no justification for the committee after issuance of fresh death warrants," sources added.

The controversial video of Saulat Mirza, in which he claimed that he received direct orders from MQM leader Babar Ghauri to assassinate the then KESC chief Shahid Hamid, was released hours before his hanging in Machh jail on March 19.

Also read: Saulat spills the beans; execution stayed

“I was summoned at Babar Ghauri’s house where I took Altaf Hussain’s orders via telephone. Altaf Hussain would usually pass on instructions through Babar Ghauri,” Saulat Mirza had alleged.

Following the airing of this video, Saulat Mirza's execution was postponed for 72 hours through a presidential order.

Balochistan government had then formed a committee headed by Inspector General Prisons Bashir Bangulzai to investigate how the video was recorded from a jail cell. The committee comprised senior officers from the provincial government's prisons and home departments.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti had ordered the inquiry.

"Yes the committee has been dissolved," Bashir Bangulzai, the Balochistan prisons chief, told Dawn.com.

However, he gave no details on reasons behind the dissolution of the committee.

Saulat Mirza's video interview, which was aired on private TV channels on the night of his execution, has changed the overall national political atmosphere of the country.

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