Armaghan’s father sent on police remand for two days

A judicial magistrate on Friday remanded Kamran Asghar Qureshi, the father of prime suspect Armaghan in the Mustafa Amir kidnap and murder case, in police custody for two days.

Kamran has been booked by the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) in two separate cases after allegedly being caught with an unlicensed pistol and ice outside his residence in Khayaban-e-Momin, DHA Phase V on Thursday.

The investigation officer presented the suspect before Judicial Magistrate (South) Shahzad Khuwaja and requested his three-day physical remand for interrogation. State prosecutor Shakeel Abbasi contended that the suspect's custody was needed to interrogate him about the source of the seized drug and pistol. He said the suspect was clever and dodging the investigators.

He informed the court that Kamran had also advised his son Armaghan to flee Karachi after the murder of Amir and that he had also been extending threats to prosecution, judges and media persons.

Defence counsel Khurram Abbas argued that his client had been taken into custody on the evening of March 18 and kept in illegal confinement for two days. He said that Kamran was being punished for defending his son, adding that alleged seized drugs and weapon had been foisted upon him as the police had no private witness to back up the allegations.

At the outset of the hearing, the magistrate asked Armaghan's father whether he had been maltreated by the police. He responded that he had been tortured, and when asked to show the marks, he said he would need to remove his clothes to do so. The magistrate then directed a court staffer to take him inside a chamber for verification.

Later, the magistrate noted that the marks appeared to be old according to the staffer, and ordered a medical examination. Kamran told the court that the cops arrested him from his residence after breaking the gate of his house. He complained that he had not been provided with copies of the FIRs nor informed about the charges against him.

After hearing arguments, the magistrate handed the suspect over to police custody for two days and directed that copies of the FIRs be supplied to the defence side. Two FIRs have been lodged against him under the relevant sections of the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Act 2022 and Sindh Arms Act. According to the FIRs, ice packed in two plastic bags and a 9mm pistol were seized from a school bag carried by Kamran.

Videos

Following the arrest of Kamran, a series of videos have surfaced showing him expressing remorse over the murder of Amir.

In these videos, Kamran appears visibly ashamed of the incident and openly apologises to Amir’s parents as well as the media. The videos also reveal Kamran acknowledging that the police raid on his house was justified.

The raid on February 9, during which Armaghan had opened fire on the raiding police team, resulted in injuries to a DSP and a police constable.

Kamran is also seen apologising to the media and Amir’s parents in the videos for his previous remarks about the case.

According to Kamran, he had later realised that the media reports about the case were accurate. "If any of my statements hurt the media, i apologise," he said.

He also extended his apology to Amir’s mother Wajiha and her husband stating that he was emotionally distressed over the case, and if he had said anything inappropriate in anger, he regretted that.

"The police raid on my house was conducted according to the law," he said. "If I used any inappropriate words in frustration during or before the raid, I apologise for that as well."

Kamran was arrested by the police on Thursday during a raid at his residence in Gizri. Authorities claimed to have recovered ice (crystal meth) and a pistol from his possession.

Police have accused him of purchasing four sophisticated automatic rifles that were seized following Armaghan’s arrest. According to the investigation, Kamran allegedly bought those weapons and later handed them over to his son.

Police have also claim retrieving video evidence from Kamran’s mobile phone showing him purchasing the weapons, inspecting them and even test-firing them. It has also been revealed that these weapons, despite being legally purchased from Peshawar, were illegally brought and possessed. The firearms are reported to be extremely expensive, and their verification is still pending.