PTI leader claims Karachi police killed driver in encounter

A PTI leader and her husband claim their driver was picked up by the Karachi police and shot dead in a fake encounter Thursday night.

The PTI leader, Laila Parveen, and her husband, lawyer Ali Hasnain, say their driver Muhammad Abbas was picked up from their house at night and the next morning they received news that he had been killed.

They are both in Islamabad. Hasnain spoke to SAMAA TV and said Abbas had been in his employ for five years and was currently with Hasnain’s mother while he and his wife are in Islamabad.

He also said that the police took his vehicle when they took Abbas into custody. Abbas’ relatives have claimed, however, that he only worked for Hasnain for five days.

The police reported an incident in DHA Phase V’s Gizri early Friday morning. According to a press statement, the Gizri police noticed a suspicious black Toyota Hilux parked outside a house in one of the Gizri commercial streets and approached it.

The occupants reportedly abandoned the vehicle and climbed the wall into someone’s house. When the police followed them, they opened fire. All five suspects were injured in the retaliatory fire and died on the way to the hospital, according to the police.

The police have so far identified four suspects– Muhammad Abbas, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Abid and Muhammad Riaz. All four have criminal records, according to the police, and were involved in 26 cases last year.

They were part of a 20-member gang from South Punjab that was involved in several robberies, including the one at former chief minister Ali Muhammad Mahar’s house.

The police seized ID cards from four suspects and pistols. Cases have been registered against them.