Rangers form committee to ascertain cause of Aftab’s death  

KARACHI: Sindh Rangers have constituted a high-level committee to ascertain the cause of the death of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Farooq Sattar’s coordinator Aftab Ahmed.

Rangers spokesman said, the committee has been formed on the directives of DG Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar.

The committee will be headed by Sector Commander of Rangers, the spokesman said and added that the paramilitary personnel probably involved in the incident have been suspended.

Dr Farooq Sattar’s coordinator Aftab Ahmed, 42, who was under Rangers’ 90–day preventive detention, died on Tuesday.

The party claimed he was brutally tortured to death, but the paramilitary force maintains he died a natural death caused by a heart attack.

Rangers’ version

Rangers said Ahmed was arrested by the paramilitary force on May 1 in the Federal B Area over suspicion of his involvement in various crimes.

He was produced before an anti-terrorism court which had endorsed his 90-preventive detention.

On Tuesday morning, Ahmed had complained of chest pain after which he was immediately taken to a hospital where he died during the treatment.

MQM rejects claim

MQM convener Nadeem Nusrat rejected the Rangers claims and demanded that the higher authorities and international human rights bodies should take notice of the incident. He said the postmortem was conducted in the presence of Rangers and during that process, doctors and other JPMC staff were asked to leave the room so that a fake report could be issued.

He said there was undeniable evidence of torture on the body and it could be presented before any court in the world.