Late Fahad Malik's brother issues appeal for justice at third assassination anniversary

LONDON: British-Pakistani businessperson Jawad Sohrab Malik has issued a defiant yet heartfelt appeal for justice in the murder case of his brother, Fahad Malik, at his third assassination anniversary.

Malik reminded that his brother, Fahad, was killed by a criminal syndicate which, if not punished for its crimes, could unleash more deaths and destruction, encouraged by the system's weakness and corrupt elements that help killers for petty gains.

Several British-Pakistani parliamentarians, who have repeatedly issued calls for justice to authorities back home, supported Malik's appeal, with the issue being raised in the British Parliament during a hearing of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Former Tory Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi, Labour MPs Naz Shah and Khalid Mahmood, and social justice activist Jibran Nasir have supported the British-Pakistani businessperson's campaign for justice on social media in their statement.

Among those arrested on charges of murder were Raja Arshad Mahmood, Noman Khokhar, and Raja Hashim Khan, all three of whom have been in prison ever since. Courts, however, have rejected their bail requests, with the case in its final stages and a ruling expected in the upcoming weeks.

For Jawad Malik, personally, the case was a personal crusade for justice, requiring tremendous courage and strength of character to take on a powerful mafia known in the capital for its connections at the right places and the immunity it enjoyed over decades.

A few years older than Jawad Malik, Fahad was a young and promising barrister who returned to Pakistan, refusing a lucrative job and business in the UK to make his motherland a better place. Killed on job as a lawyer, his brother observed that the murderers were comfortable in the knowledge that they would be able to twist the law yet again but they were mistaken.

In a poignant message, Jawad pointed out what he has been up against and how challenging it was to fight for something that should have been the state's responsibility.

In the video, the London-educated businessperson said: “Three years ago, my brother, barrister Fahad Malik, was killed in Islamabad. Three years on, the fight for justice remains as effective and intense as it always was.

"Those who killed my brother are part of a criminal syndicate. They have used every trick in the book in three years to delay the course of justice. They will continue to use the same old tricks in order to delay the justice.

"The loss to my family is absolute. My brother will never come back.”

Jawad Malik mounted a strong challenge to the tactics and manoeuvres of the accused and the supporting criminal network that supported crimes in the federal capital and beyond with impunity.

He was able to hire some of the best lawyers in Pakistan to plead his case but the killers's sympathisers used every trick to thwart the course of justice and fair play.

Not taking any chances, Jawad brought on his legal team some of the most sought after legal names of the country: Faisal Siddiqui, Khawaja Naveed, Akram Qureshi, and famed Khawaja Harris.

Renowned human rights lawyer, the late Asma Jahangir, was also part of the legal team until her untimely death.

For almost every day these past three years, he led the defence team in the most robust manner, challenging and thwarting the gimmicks of the three alleged killers who remain behind the bars despite several attempts to be released.

Jawad also has a cause to be worried and, therefore, remained extra vigilant because Raja Arshed, one of the three killers, was arrested from the Torkhan Border while fleeing to Afghanistan and could do the same if freed again.

For him, there was a heavy price to pay for the extraordinary battle he single-handedly fought. Despite having faced threats and intimidation, he remained resilient and nothing stopped him for a moment. He warned that there would be more killings in future if justice was not done today.

“If we don’t ensure that justice is done — and seen to be done — in the case of my brother, there will be more such tragedies. There will be more murders and lives will be taken away with impunity by these terrorists.”

“The killers of my brother are getting a lot of help. I want to tell their facilitators that you are equally responsible and complicit in the crime. Like the three killers, you have blood on your hands. I want you to introspect, I want you to feel what it will be like for you if, god forbid, you had to pick up a dead body of a family member, like your brother or son or someone you loved delay.

"Imagine the pain. Imagine the curses you will get from the victims, from mothers and sisters of the victims for your crime.”

Jawad went on to make a strong point for the society in general that standing up for the right cause was not personal and anyone could faced a choice like that any time.

“I want to inform you again. This is not just my fight. This fight is for all of you, for all of us to fight together. We have to raise this voice together so that it doesn’t happen again to anyone else, not to anyone else’s family.

"I request all of you to speak out against the murder of my brother. I hope that we will get justice soon, Inshallah.

"I appeal to the justice system to help us get justice as soon as possible.”