Daily Times

A man died after setting himself on fire outside PM House in Islamabad, authorities said on Friday, while a letter addressed to Prime Minister Imran Khan was found on him as well, a private TV channel reported.

A resident of Murree, the man self-immolated outside Gate No 2 of PM House and was shifted to PIMS Hospital in critical condition. However, he succumbed to his burn wounds.

According to the letter found on him, the man had appealed for an inquiry to be initiated against a politician named Jawad Abbas. The man stated in his letter that he had been booked in a case of possession of 20 litres of alcohol.

On the other hand, Rawalpindi police said the man had been booked on September 19, 2019, in a case of attempted rape of a minor girl. There was no case of liquor possession against him in Pirwadhai police station, they added.

PM Imran took notice of the incident and directed Islamabad Chief Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmad to immediately initiate a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Ahmad said the district magistrate will complete the probe in 48 hours and the judicial inquiry report will be submitted to the prime minister. Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, however, said the deceased was ‘mentally disturbed’. He said the deceased, identified as Faisal Mehmood, was a resident of Murree and was mentally unstable and a drug addict. The claim about Mehmood’s mental health could not be independently verified. An FIR had been registered against Mehmood last year for allegedly attempting to abuse a minor girl and he had been declared an absconder in December 2019, he said. Before setting himself on fire, the man said that he does not trust the Rawalpindi police which is why he is taking this step. Shafqaat said the man had some medical problems as well and had recently visited Polyclinic Hospital.