Daily Times

KARACHI: A Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader said on Tuesday that a party member, who was coordinator to senior party leader Dr Farooq Sattar, died in the custody of the Rangers.

“Aftab Ahmed died in Rangers’ custody. He was detained for 90 days for no reason,” MQM spokesperson Wasay Jalil said in a tweet.

The Rangers said in a press release that Ahmed complained of chest pain early in the morning and he was taken to the hospital. Dr Seemin Jamali, head of emergency at the JPMC, said Ahmed was admitted to the hospital at around 7am on Tuesday. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on him, but he had no pulse and no blood pressure when he was brought to the hospital, she said. He died at around 7:45am after doctors failed to revive him, she said. The Rangers had picked Ahmed up in a raid on Sunday.

Additional police surgeon Dr Kaleem Shaikh said the exact cause of his death would be ascertained after his post-mortem examination. As Ahmed died in custody, he said, the post-mortem examination would be conducted in the presence of a magistrate.

“The death in custody is a cause for concern and we want a transparent investigation into the matter,” Sattar told Daily Times.

MQM leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan, who is also leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, said that a commission should be formed to investigate Ahmed’s death. He said, “Responsibility should be fixed for his death in custody.”