Ajmal Khattak’s son ‘mysteriously’ dies in jail

PESHAWAR: Late poet-politician Ajmal Khattak’s son Mirwais Khattak, who was mentally ill and was arrested for killing his sister, died in mysterious circumstances in the Mental Hospital located in the premises of the Peshawar Central Prison on Saturday, official sources said.

He was taken into custody by the police on November 1 for killing his elder sister, Durre Shahwar. As he had mental health issues, he was shifted from the prison where he was under judicial remand to the adjacent Mental Hospital for treatment.

The reason of his death isn’t known. His family took his body home from the prison to Akora Khattak in Nowshera district. The family didn’t want to do post-mortem of the body.

His Nimaz-i-Janaza was performed at Akora Khattak and was attended by relatives and friends of the family as well as political workers, notably from the Awami National Party (ANP), which was once headed by Pakhtun nationalist politician Ajmal Khattak. Among the mourners was ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

Mirwais Khattak had been mentally ills since long. He was tied with a rope whenever he turned violent. The family reportedly wanted to admit him to a hospital for mentally ill patients, but his sister Durre Shahwar opposed the decision. She used to take care of him, providing him food and medicines. On November 1, Mirwais Khattak suffered from a fit and hit his sister on the head with a sharp and heavy object which caused her death. Durre Shahwar’s husband Jamil Khattak had filed the case with the police against the accused Mirwais Khattak.