RAWALPINDI: The father of a religious party activist who was killed during the Faizabad operation on Nov 25 filed a complaint with Sadiqabad police on Thursday, seeking the registration of a case against the interior minister, former interior minister, regional police officer (RPO), city police officer (CPO), a station house officer (SHO) and Frontier Constabulary personnel.

Mohammad Sohaib Zahid was shot during the law enforcement operation against the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah’s sit-in. His father Zahid Aqueel, a resident of Dhoke Khabba, filed a complaint with police, stating that his son was a social worker, the vice president of the Jamaat-i-Islami’s youth wing and a law-abiding citizen.

He said that Zahid left his house at around 4:30pm on Nov 25 for Faizabad with his cousin Mohammad Adeel Khalid after hearing that sit-in participants had been injured by teargas.

He said that his son and Mr Khalid neared the residence of former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at around 6pm. They parked their motorcycle and moved forward on foot, he said, and were caught in the gunfire that came from inside the former minister’s residence. In his complaint, Mr Aqueel said his son was shot three times, and was picked up from just outside Mr Khan’s house and taken to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital by his cousin and another man.

Zahid died upon reaching the hospital, he said, and the body of the deceased was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital for a post-mortem examination before being handed over to the family.

He stated: “It all happened on the directives of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, as RPO Wisal Fakhar Sultan Raja, CPO Israr Ahmed Abbasi, DSP Raza Ullah Khan, SHO Zulfiqar Ali, concerned police along with FC personnel killed my son.”

When contacted, Mr Aqueel told Dawn he had filed the complaint with the Sadiqabad police seeking justice and the registration of a case against those responsible for his son’s death.

“The police had received my complaint but did not register a case. However, I will chalk out a strategy within a couple of days on what to do next if the case is not registered,” he said.

The CPO could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2017