Parents of Khawar Hussain, the Dawn reporter whose body was discovered in his car with a gunshot wound to the head outside a restaurant in Sanghar on Saturday, suspect foul play in their son’s death.
Khawar Hussain’s father, Rehmat Hussain Bajwa, along with his mother and brother, landed at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport before departing for Hyderabad. From there, they will proceed to Sanghar with the body. Khawar Hussain’s funeral prayer, initially scheduled after Zuhr, will instead be held after Asr at Eidgah Ground Mosque in Sanghar due to the order for a second post-mortem examination.
Rehmat Hussain Bajwa categorically rejected the notion of his son’s suicide, alleging that he was murdered. He said the family had no land disputes or conflicts of any kind.
“My son was courageous and brave; there was no reason for him to shoot himself. This appears to be a murder,” he said. “However, the police investigation is still underway. Let us see what facts emerge. Since we were not present here, we do not have much information on the current stage of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, the body of journalist Khawar Hussain underwent a second post-mortem at Civil Hospital Hyderabad, carried out on the request of his brother, Ejaz Hussain. CT scans and X-rays were also conducted.
Police Surgeon Dr. Waseem Khan said that the post-mortem was performed on directives from higher authorities. He added that no opinion could be given regarding suicide or murder until the final report is available.
Dr. Waseem said that the medical board consisted of three members, including a forensic expert, and that samples were taken for analysis. He confirmed that no signs of torture were found on the body. The preliminary report of the second post-mortem is expected within one or two days.
Following his death, a high-level committee was formed to investigate. The committee is headed by Additional Inspector General (AIG) of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Azad Khan, with Deputy Inspector General (DIG) West Irfan Baloch and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abid Baloch as members.
The committee will review all aspects of the mysterious death and submit its report to the Sindh Home Department within seven days.
