Pakistani politician gets protective bail on blasphemy victim's murder case

Umerkot [Pakistan], October 1 : A leader of the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) was granted a 10-day protective bail by the Circuit Bench of the Sindh High Court in the case of the murder of Shahnawaz Kunbhar who was alleged of blasphemy, according to Dawn.
The court granted pre-arrest interim bail to Pir Umar Jan Sirhindi, the chief of TLP's south Sindh chapter, against a surety bond of Rs 100,000. Pir Sirhindi, DIG Javed Jiskani and several others have been booked in a case registered on the complaint of family members of Shahnawaz Kunbhar.
Speaking to media persons outside the court after getting a bail, the main accused, Sirhindi claimed that he had played an impartial role when the violent protest erupted in Umerkot and tried to stop the enraged mob from damaging government and private properties, but it was deplorable that he was implicated in the murder case.
He said that he worked alongside the then-senior police officers of Umerkot and other administrative officers to defuse the situation and save Umerkot from a big disaster.
Ibrahim Kunbhar stated that the nominated persons acted with each other and planned the murder of his brother-in-law in police custody over the pretext of blasphemy.
The bench issued notices to all parties and adjourned the hearing on the case until Oct 14.
Dawn reported that earlier this month, blasphemy charges were charged against Shahnawaz and an FIR was lodged against him after a violent protest by 'religious groups' in Umerkot. Pir Sirhindi led a big rally in Umerkot and forced the police to arrest Shahnawaz, who later surrendered to the police but was later killed in a staged encounter. When his family took the body back to their ancestral village for burial, a mob led by Sirhindi, Ahmed Shahani and Riaz Panhwar allegedly snatched the body and set it on fire.
Meanwhile, Advocate Ali Palh along with others filed an application in court and asked names of DIG Jiskani and then SSPs of Umerkot and Mirpurkhas to be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL). They also asked the court to order a judicial inquiry into the murder of Dr Shahnawaz in a staged encounter.
The Exit Control List of Pakistan is a tool employed by the government to restrict the movement of individuals who are seen as a threat to national security or have been involved in serious criminal activities.
Several religious leaders across Pakistan demanded that the government conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the blasphemy incident and its aftermath. Pakistan Sunni Tehreek's Shahid Ghouri, Abdul Khaliq of Bharchondi, Mashaikh Ettihad Council Pakistan's president Ghulam Mujaddid Sirhindi and others made the demand at a press conference in Umerkot. They said that they did not justify the "extrajudicial killing" of Dr Shahnawaz and the burning and desecrating of his body, Dawn reported.