Daily Times

The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of Maqsood’s killing has emerged on social media in which police officers can be seen firing on Maqsood, who was travelling in a rickshaw.

Law enforcement authorities on January 20 claimed that they killed a suspect, identified just as Maqsood, in a shootout near Faisal Base on Shahrah-e-Faisal.

A few hours later, the police backtracked on their initial statement, stating that the deceased was not the suspect they were looking for, and that he was in fact killed in crossfire between the police and the suspect.

The CCTV footage starts off with a rickshaw overturning near Faisal Base on Shahrah-e-Faisal, after which police officers surround it and then forcibly take out the passenger (identified as Maqsood) from it. The officers are then seen opening fire on the young man.

Four policemen of the Shahra-e-Faisal police station were nominated in the case. On April 4, Sindh police had included terrorism charges against suspects named in the case

Police, in a charge sheet submitted on March 24 for the Maqsood killing, had revealed that Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tariq shot the deceased from a close range.

The charge sheet further stated that Tariq shot two other men after dragging them out from a rickshaw, along with the deceased.

Maqsood’s father Sheikh Muhammad had expressed reservations over the charge sheet. He demanded that the authorities present the CCTV video of the incident to the public.

“My son was martyred by the police. I have not received any justice. He was not carrying a weapon; I demand that the authorities release the CCTV video so that people can know the truth,” Sheikh Muhammad said.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, social activist Jibran Nasir held a press conference where he raised questions on the accountability process of the ‘black sheep’ in the police force.

“We are proud of the police officers who sacrifice their lives while performing their duty but what about those officers who wore the police uniform but considered the life of their son a prop?” said Jibran Nasir while referring to Maqsood’s parents.

“The media does not have time to cover every murder in the country in detail and the family of every citizen killed cannot hold protests or get the same media attention,” Nasir added.

“We had requested the provincial government to bring reforms to laws in the province, so a proper inquiry process for encounters could be established but before something could be done, their tenure ended,” stated Jibran during his press conference.

Published in Daily Times, June 21^st 2018.