We helped police trace Shahnawaz but they betrayed us, says slain man’s brother

he air was tense near the Umerkot Press Club on Wednesday with heavy police presence as people from different cities of the province had trickled in for a rare rally against the extrajudicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar.

Scores of local residents had gathered at the entry point of the city, waiting for the organisers to arrive so they could start their march towards the press club.

It is not common to see people speaking up against such killings, let alone a protest.

"How can you kill him [Shahnawaz] when allegations have not been proved yet?" asks Rana Shabbir, a resident of Umerkot, who was participating in the rally along with his two little sons. "The police should not have killed the suspect after arresting him."

Apart from the participants, a good number of curious onlookers were observing the march from a distance, finding a cover from the scorching sun under the shade of a nearby petrol pump, trees and shop awnings.

Armed cops kept a watch as speakers delivered their speeches to a rapt audience. The speeches were dotted with slogans: “Sindh Ji Dharti, Aman Ji Dharti [Sindh is the land of peace]” and “Intiha Pasandi Na Manzoor [say no to religious extremism]”.

Youngsters make up the bulk of the attendees. "Fear has gripped the minds of our elders, like our father and uncles," says Junaid Kunbhar, a cousin of Shahnwaz. "They were too frightened to attend the rally." The rally mirrors the city's religious diversity as members of the Hindu community have also turned up to condemn the killing.

Bharat Kumar, a teacher, thinks Shahnawaz's killing was orchestrated to trigger fear — a conspiracy being perpetuated in Sindh for years. "Shahnawaz's murder seems to be an aspect of this conspiracy. The city has a high percentage of Hindu population. This incident has not only impacted all local residents but disproportionately affected the Hindu community."

Truamatised and silenced, Shahnawaz's family was too frightened to speak to anyone about the incident. However, as reports of the extrajudicial killing and gruesome burning of the body spread and drew reaction from civil rights activists, the family found courage to break the silence.

A day after the killing, a large number of rights activists, nationalist leaders, lawyers and artistes visited the bereaved family and vowed to fully support them in their pursuit for justice.

Police’s betrayal

Babar Ali, the youngest of the five brothers, recalls that as protests began on September 17 following blasphemy allegations against his brother, the family tried to contact Shahnawaz but could not succeed as his number was turned off. "On that night, police came to our house and inquired about my brother's whereabouts. They said there is pressure on them and asked us to hand him over to them. As a conditional guarantee, we surrendered our father to the police until the arrest of our brother."

He says Shahnawaz was arrested in Karachi the following day. "Police were in contact with us and assured that our brother would be given complete security," Ali adds.

"We helped the police trace our brother's location and will neither forget nor forgive how they deceived us after that."

The tragedy did not end even with the killing. Babar says the family was harassed by people of their village and surrounding areas who made it clear that they would not allow Shahnawaz’s burial in their own village's or nearby graveyards.

He lauds civil society activists for coming to their help and demands a judicial probe into his brother's extrajudicial murder.

Quarters concerned over rising religious extremism across the country have commended the visits to Shahnawaz’s family by Sindh’s civil society activists, workers of nationalist parties, and members of literary circles.

“Their decision to stand in solidarity and organise protests against his brutal killing and the mob’s humiliation of his body was a courageous act,” says journalist Zia Ur Rehman.

“Such incidents have been happening across the country where a mob can lynch anyone based on accusations of blasphemy, even rumours. We did not see such solidarity and condemnation in those cases.”

He adds that even mainstream political parties do not dare to speak out due to the fear of backlash from religious groups or losing vote bank.

Rehman said that in a similar incident, a police officer killed a blasphemy suspect in a police station in Quetta and the family pardoned him due to pressure.

Qazi Khizer, vice president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)’s Sindh chapter, opines that the reaction to the extrajudicial killing of Shahnawaz is a beacon of hope as this signifies that Sindh does not accept extremism and lawlessness.

"If Sindh had not taken stand on this matter this time, when would it have?" he remarks. He also lauds the women's role in the protests.

Khizer emphasises that the Constitution gives every person the right to a fair trial and however grave the allegations are, it must be a court to punish those found guilty, not any other individual or force.

Sindhu Nawaz Ghangro, one of the rights activists leading the rally on Wednesday, said their protest was a testament to the real identity of Sindh whose people gathered in large numbers despite threats from

extremists.