17 suspects held for questioning as FIR lodged over Bugti groups’ clash in DHA

A case has been registered over the shooting incident in Defence on Thursday involving two Bugti tribe groups, which resulted in the deaths of five individuals and injuries to others.

The FIR No 407/24 was registered at the Darakhshan police station on the complaint of the state on Friday. The case includes charges under the sections 302, 324 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

According to the complainant, the incident occurred at 10:55pm on Thursday near the Animal Hospital on Khayaban-e-Nishat, Defence Phase VI. The investigation of the case has been assigned to the station investigation officer of the Darakhshan police station.

Meanwhile, police detained around 17 suspects in connection with the shootout between the two Bugti tribe groups and post-mortem examinations of all the five deceased persons killed in the incident were carried out.

The post-mortem of two victims was conducted at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and of the other three at the Civil Hospital, Karachi. After the post-mortem, the bodies of Fahad Bugti and Naseebullah Bugti were moved to the Edhi morgue from the JPMC while the bodies of Mir Meesam Bugti, Mir Isa Bugti and their gunman Ali were moved to the Chhipa morgue from the Civil Hospital.

Police said two of the deceased — Meesam and Isa — were brothers and their father Ali Haider Bugti was injured in the incident. Two injured persons are under treatment at a private hospital on Stadium Road.

The funeral prayers for Fahad and Naseebullah were held at the Bait-us-Salam Masjid in Defense Phase II. A large number of people from the Bugti tribe attended the funeral prayers.

CCTV footage of the incident also surfaced on the media, showing two cars speeding towards each other when a third car comes to the street and all the three cars come face to face. Armed individuals get out of all the three cars and start firing while looking for safe spots to hide. One armed person can be seen running away with modern weaponry. It was reported on Thursday night that the firing was a result of a dispute involving the family of the late Sardar Akbar Bugti whose nephews and other relatives were among the five persons killed in the shooting.

One of the groups was led by Akbar Bugti’s nephew Fahad Bugti, and the other by another nephew Ali Haider Bugti, said police officials. In the exchange of fire, Fahad and his gunman were killed from the one group and Haider’s two sons from the other group.

According to eyewitnesses, Fahad lived alone in a nearby flat and at the time of the incident, he was accompanied by two guards in a car. Meanwhile, Haider's group was in two vehicles.

Fahad’s vehicle was passing through the street when Haider's group surrounded it from the front and back, eyewitnesses explained. As soon as the vehicle was surrounded, individuals from both groups got out of their cars and started firing, eyewitnesses recounted. Fahad's guard Naseebullah confronted the armed individuals from the opposing group. In the exchange of fire, Fahad was the first to be shot while one of his guards fled the scene.

Later, Naseebullah was also killed in the firing along with three members of the other side. Parked vehicles in the area were also damaged in the crossfire, eyewitnesses noted.

Residents around the incident site recorded the event on their mobile phones, and those videos were obtained by police.

Shortly after the incident, reinforcements from both the groups arrived that could be seen picking up their respective people and loading them into vehicles, according to the videos. Police mobile units arrived shortly after.

The police's initial report stated that the exchange of gunfire lasted for 10 to 12 minutes. Both sides used small and large modern firearms and approximately 150 or more bullets were fired.

Karachi Additional IG Javed Alam Odho also visited the crime scene and said Karachi could not afford such incidents. “We will not allow anyone to disturb the city's peace,” he remarked. District South SSP Sajid Saduzai while talking to the media said police had received the information on the 15 emergency helpline and responded immediately.

The police arrived at the scene within 10 minutes, he claimed, adding that the police closed down the market nearby to ensure people’s safety. Washane Bugti, nephew of Fahad and grandson of Akbar Bugti, had filed an application with the police for registration of the FIR. "I want to make one thing clear. It was not a clash between two groups but an ambush. The CCTV footage clearly shows that my uncle Fahad Bugti who was accompanied with only two guards was chased in a Revo by the attackers led by Ali Haider Bugti and his sons Meesam Bugti and Isa Bugti right outside my uncle's flat in Nishat Commercial where another double cabin white vehicle of the attackers blocked my uncle's car from the front. Around 15 to 20 people can be seen getting off these two vehicles to attack my Uncle who had no option but to fire in self defence and lost his life defending himself.”

Washane stated that he submitted the application for FIR at 4:30am, a few hours after the incident, at the Darakhshan Police Station, but the police registered a case on their own at 5:15am giving a false narrative showing the incident as a wilful clash between two groups.

“What the police want to hide is the fact that the attackers are already nominated in an earlier FIR at the Sahil police station for an earlier attack on our family and after which we have given multiple applications for police to intervene and resolve the issue but the police repeatedly failed to take action resulting in the murderous attack on my uncle last night,” he said.

The FIR registered by the police also hides the fact that the incident did not happen at a random place but right outside my uncle's apartment clearly showing that the attackers chased him and he wanted to avoid any bloodshed.

“The police record will reveal that multiple FIRs are registered against Ali Haider Bugti and his sons for multiple crimes committed in different cities across Sindh. I demand the chief minister look into the matter and instruct the IG for a fair and free investigation as it is already evident that the police want to bury the truth and save their own neck with a falsified account," he stated.