“These are the bodies of my wife and two sons"
Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, Balochistan minister for Communication and Works, has been accused of keeping a private prison in his home.
This comes after the bodies of three people were discovered in a well near his home.
On February 20, 2023, police found the charred and bullet-ridden bodies of a woman and two men in sacks in a well.
The victims were identified as Mohammad Nawaz and Abdul Qadir while the woman was presumed to be Giran Naz.
They are reportedly the family members of Khan Muhammad Marri, who claimed that the minister had kept his family captive for almost four years in his private prison.
He claimed his family was imprisoned in 2019 after he failed to testify in a case between the provincial minister and his son, Sardar Inam Khetran.
In the wake of the accusations, police raided the minister’s house and he has been arrested.
A subsequent raid led to the recovery of Mr Marri’s wife – who was presumed dead – and their five children.
The case has caused outrage on social media.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that it is “horrified by the discovery of three bullet-ridden bodies”. The commission demanded that the “serious allegations must be investigated promptly”.
On February 22, hundreds of members of the local Marri tribe protested.
They have said they will not bury the victims until Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visits them.
Balochistan minister for Home Affairs Mir Ziaullah Langove also wrote to the law enforcement agencies seeking the “safe recovery” of Marri’s family members.
A hospital said that the victim’s bodies had injury marks that indicated torture. Their hands and feet were tied with ropes.
It is indicated that they were executed as all three were shot in the head.
The female victim has not been identified but according to police, she could be Mr Marri’s daughter.
Meanwhile, Mr Khetran has denied all allegations. He said:
“I have not kept anyone in prison and such allegations are always levelled whenever elections are near.”
However, his son Inam Shah reportedly confirmed that three bodies had been dumped in the well. He said:
“Last night, around two kilometres away from home, three bodies were thrown in a well. I don’t know who threw them.”
Mr Khetran was previously accused of keeping a private prison in 2014 when police and the Anti-Terrorist Force carried out a raid at his residence and recovered seven people.
In a statement, Balochistan inspector general of police Abdul Khaliq Sheikh said:
“A high-level impartial investigation committee will be conducted in consultation with the families of victims whose bodies have been recovered from [the well] in Barkhan.”
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