The sit-in at Quetta. Twitter
The case of the three mutilated bodies found in a well at Barkhan took a strange turn on Wednesday after Levies personnel recovered the presumed dead wife of Khan Muhammad Marri, as well as five missing children, while conducting raids on an intelligence tip-off.
Speaking with media on Thursday morning, Marri confirmed that his wife, Giran Naz, had been recovered and his missing five children found. However, he maintained two of his sons were murdered by Balochistan minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, who he accuses of having them detained in a “private jail.” Claiming that he had been employed by Khetran and had escaped “one of three private jails,” he confirmed that he had no ties to the woman whose body was found, adding that she had still been someone’s sister or daughter.
He also alleged that Khetran had wanted him to give false testimony against his son, who the minister had earlier accused of instigating Marri ahead of elections due later this year. On Wednesday, Khetran was arrested for his alleged connection with the murder of three people. A spokesperson for police said that a special investigation team was interrogating the minister, who has thus far denied any involvement in the murders.
According to a police autopsy of the three bodies, the deceased woman was between 17 and 18 years old and had been raped and tortured prior to being shot dead. It said that the woman’s face had been mutilated with acid to hide her identity. Of the two boys whose bodies were also discovered, it said that they had also been tortured before being killed.
Meanwhile, a sit-in against the gruesome murders has continued for a third day in Quetta, with protesters refusing to bury the bodies until Marri’s missing children have all been returned to him and the accused responsible for the killings arrested. A tribal Jirga has supported the protesters, warning the government to accept their demands within two days.