KARACHI, Feb 4: Investigators who interviewed the only witness to the targeted killing of the wife, daughter and driver of Balochistan provincial assembly member Mir Muhammad Bakhtiar Khan Domki, a young maid employed by the family, feel certain that the killings were carried out to convey a message to Brahmadagh Bugti, the grandson of the slain Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Mr Domki’s wife was Brahmadagh Bugti’s sister.

The maid had narrated the incident to senior law-enforcement officers before she was handed over to the bereaved family hours after the attack.

During the early hours of Jan 31, at around 1:30 am, assailants killed Jhumar, 32, and her daughter Janna, 13, and their driver at a deserted street close to the Gizri bridge within the remit of the Clifton police station.

Apart from the young maid, there is no other witness to the gory killings. The fact that the girl was spared suggests that it was not a random, but very selective targeted killing, the investigators remarked.

Requesting anonymity they told Dawn that the girl saw three men come out of a car that intercepted their vehicle and first kill the driver. The men separated the maid from the rest and then killed Janna.

Upon this, Janna’s mother became hysterical, asking the attackers what they would do next. They replied that they were going to kill her, and proceeded to do just that, the investigators quoting the young maid told Dawn.

The murders were committed with two AK-47 rifles fired at point-blank range. An empty magazine and several dozen spent bullet casings were recovered from the crime-scene by the police.

According to the investigators, it appeared that the attackers were following their target and chose a deserted street for the killing.

Although the make of the car used in the attack is not yet clear, the investigators said that as per the maid’s account, it was a small black car.

The use of an assault rifle in such a murder is a question that investigators are still pondering over.