KARACHI: A worker of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), who was arrested for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking and impersonating, died in police custody under controversial circumstances on Thursday, it emerged on Friday.

While City SSP Arif Aziz claimed that suspect Naimatullah committed suicide inside a police lock-up, his relatives and political activists held a protest on Friday, alleging that he was killed by police.

Kalri SHO Asadullah Agha said the police arrested Naimatullah for possessing two kilograms of hashish and carrying fake ID cards of “sensitive institutions”. He was in custody of the investigation wing of the police, where he hanged himself with the casement of the lock-up, he claimed.

Last night as well as on Friday, deceased’s relatives and workers of the PkMAP staged a sit-in near Empress Market in Saddar.

Deceased’s brother Rehmatullah told the media that Naimat worked at a restaurant in Lyari. He said his cell phone had been switched off for the last five days, adding that that on late Wednesday night, he received a call from his brother’s phone number by the police which said that Naimat had committed suicide. He alleged that his brother was killed by the police.

Arbab Durrani, a local leader of the PkMAP, said the deceased was a worker of their party and had nothing to do with criminal activities. He demanded an impartial inquiry to ascertain the circumstances leading to his death and an action against the policemen involved.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2023