Pak Army probes activist’s death

Pakistan Army Chief Raheel Sharif on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar’s coordinator Aftab Hussain’s death in custody of the paramilitary Rangers force.

“General Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to launch a probe in the matter,” a security official said.

The MQM, a secular party that has long dominated the port city of Karachi, has accused the Rangers of having carried out dozens of extra-judicial killings of party members since 2013, something the Rangers deny. Aftab Hussain was arrested at his house on Sunday and died on Tuesday.

The Rangers initially said Hussain died of a heart attack, but the MQM said Hussain was “extra-judicially killed” in the force’s custody.

“COAS has directed to hold an inquiry to find out truth in the case of Aftab Ahmed,” the Army said in a statement, referring to the Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, who is Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Dr Sattar’s coordinator died while undergoing treatment at Jinnah Hospital in Rangers custody on Tuesday.

The Rangers had taken Hussain in custody from his Federal B Area residence two days before his death. The paramilitary force had acquired 90-day remand of the suspect a day before he was admitted in hospital.

The MQM has held sway over Pakistan’s commercial hub for years and law enforcement agencies, its opponents and many residents have accused it of racketeering, abduction, torture and murder of opponents in its bid to maintain power. The party denies links to crime.

The Rangers’ campaign against crime in the city has been widely seen as part of a broader effort by the army to exert its influence over civilian politics.

In a separate statement, the head of the Rangers said the force had set up a “high level investigating committee” to look into Hussain’s death and had suspended the officials suspected of involvement.