KARACHI: The Sindh government has set up a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe into the allegations levelled by death-row prisoner Saulat Mirza against Muttahida Qaumi Movement leadership, including its chief Altaf Hussain, in a video statement broadcast by news channels a few hours before his planned execution on March 18.

The execution of the condemned prisoner was extended for one month on March 30.

A senior official confirmed to Dawn that the Sindh home department had issued a notification that spelt out terms of reference, formation and mandate of the JIT, which would be headed by DIG-Traffic Dr Amir Sheikh.

Take a look: Saulat Mirza was in touch with MQM chief before arrest, claims wife

Senior officers of all major intelligence agencies would be part of the JIT, which had been given one week to complete its probe.

“However, that stipulated time can be extended on the JIT’s request,” said the official. “The JIT would definitely interview Saulat Mirza and double-check his statements which he recorded in court during the course of a murder trial against him for killing the Karachi Electric Supply Corp­oration’s chief in 1997.”

In a nine-minute video statement aired by almost every news channel, Mirza levelled serious allegations last month against the MQM chief, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and other leaders of the party and said that, like other workers, he was used by the party and then “thrown away like tissue paper”.

However, it was not clear as to how and when the statement was recorded in Balochistan’s Machh jail where he was to be executed.

The Sindh governor and the MQM have already denied Mirza’s allegations and the party lawmakers called the video statement a “mockery of things” and appealed to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to look into such attempts which had no legal value.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2015

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