ANOTHER MQM WORKER TORTURED TO DEATH IN CUSTODY OF THE POLICE IN KARACHI, SOUTHERN PAKISTAN

January 28, 1999
London time: 4.30 p.m.

With profound grief and sorrow we inform you that yet another MQM worker has been tortured to death while in custody of the Police. According to details, the personnel of Jauharabad Police Station on 16 January 1999 arrested Arman Danish (25) son of Sabeeh Ahmed. After his arrest when the family members contacted the police station, they were told to pay Rs. 500,000 as bribe for the release of their son. Since the family could not pay this huge amount, they were asked to immediately pay Rs. 50,000, and were threatened that failing to do so, their son will be brutally tortured.

As the poor family was unable to generate the amount, Arman Danish was subjected to the most brutal and inhuman torture in the Jauharabad Police Station under the instructions of SHO Azam Hayat. He was hung upside-down for several hours. As a result he suffered from renal failure and badly damaged lungs. Several times he vomited blood. As his condition began to deteriorate, his family was called and he was handed over to them in a very critical condition.

The parents of Arman Danish immediately took him to the Liaquat National Hospital, where upon examining his condition, the doctors refused to admit him. He was then rushed to Ziauddin Hospital, where he was admitted in the intensive care unit. Immediate medical attention was provided to him but he succumbed to injuries and died today at around 9 p.m. (Pakistan Time).

After the brutal custodial death of Fasih Ahmed on 23 October 1998, Mubashir Ali in November 1998, Israr Ahmed and Mohammad Anwar, Arman Danish is the fifth MQM worker who has been brutally tortured to death while in the police custody.

Further details are awaited.