RAWALPINDI: A large number of relatives of two men, who were involved in the murder of Inspector Mian Imran and later killed in encounters, held a protest demonstration against police at Liaquat Bagh on Wednesday.

The protesting women and children, carrying banners inscribed with slogans against the police, blocked the road, seeking justice from Pakistan’s chief justice.

Shahida Bibi, wife of one of the accused Mohammad Zahid, told journalists that the deceased suspect’s brother Mohammad Shahid was killed in an alleged encounter and after a few days her husband was also killed in March.

The protesters claimed that the deceased suspects had nothing to do with the death of Inspector Mian Imran, who was martyred on March 7 by unidentified motorcycle riders. Relatives of the deceased suspects alleged that the police first killed their cousins and now were conducting raids at their houses.

“Yesterday, police raided our house and took away the cousins of Zahid and Shahid,” one of the relatives said. Mohammad Zahid’s sister, Rubina, claimed that her brother was tortured by the police and killed.

Due to the protest at Liaquat Bagh, commuters and motorists remained stuck in traffic jams.

A police spokesman, on the other hand, said the police had already sought a judicial investigation into the killings of the two suspects apprehended in connection with Inspector Mian Imran’s death.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2021