kamranfaisal-ap-670
An ambulance carrying the body of Kamran Faisal to a hospital in Islamabad. — Photo by AP/File

ISLAMABAD: A murder case has been registered over the death of Kamran Faisal, the National Accountability Bureau’s Assistant Director, after the Supreme Court intervened in the matter.

The case was registered on a complaint lodged by the NAB Additional Director (Coordination), Noman Aslam.

“I am directed to state that on account of the widespread rumours and suspicions that Mr Kamran Faisal’s death could be due to murder it is requested to register an FIR in this case in order to determine the cause of death and to find out if this death was brought about by any pressure from any source,” the complainant said. “This application is made in order to determine the truth in the interest of justice.”

Legal experts termed it a well-drafted complaint.

In light of the FIR, police would investigate the case as a murder and if it was found to be a suicide, they would have to investigate the circumstances in which it had been committed, Advocate Chaudhry Ashraf Gujar said.

In case of suicide, investigators would probe who were responsible for it and under whose pressure the victim had taken the extreme step, he added.

“If anyone is found involved in creating the circumstances in which the victim committed suicide, he will face the murder charge,” the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, the capital police submitted the preliminarily report on the death to the Supreme Court.

An official said that the report included the autopsy report, mobile phone record of Mr Faisal and the FIR registered by the secretariat police.

Police said in the report that it was preliminarily, and outcome of the forensic analysis — chemical and histopathology — of the body was awaited. Fingerprints collected from Mr Faisal’s residence have been sent to the National Database and Registration Authority for identification and a response is awaited.

A four-member police team, including the additional SHO of secretariat police station, Inspector Mubarak Ali, and SHO of women’s police station, Sadaf Basharat, visited Mr Faisal’s family in Main Channu to record their statement.

According to sources, his father, Abdul Hameed Chaudhry, told the team that he had already given a written statement to police. The sources quoted him as saying that he was not in a position to give any more statements.

The family sought time pending the forensic reports and final opinion of the medical board. In his statement recorded before a police team that met the family earlier, Mr Chaudhry had said that he did not know anything about the circumstances in which his son had died. But he declined the police’s request to interview Mr Faisal’s widow for the reasons of “being a religious family”, officials said.

Police had reportedly claimed earlier that they had talked to the widow by phone and she had told them that she had talked to Mr Faisal on Jan 18 at around 7.30am. According to the autopsy report, Mr Faisal died between 11.30pm on Jan 17 and 4.30am on Jan 18.

The victim’s father was not available on phone, but his paternal uncle Tariq Masood confirmed that a police team had met the family to record their statements.

“How can we give a statement on the issue when we do not have any documents or autopsy and medical reports and nothing is known about the death,” he said.

In reply to a question about the widow’s reported statement, he said: “The women of the family are not in touch with the matter. They have not been watching TV either. Therefore, they are unable to give their viewpoint.”

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