HRCP condemns murder of Nazim Jokhio

• Jokhio was allegedly tortured to death for recording guests of PPP MPA hunting vulnerable houbara bustard.
• HRCP says murder lays bare yet again the chronic impunity enjoyed by the wealthy and privileged.
• Says Jokhio's murder is a "national disgrace" because he was just a citizen concerned about an endangered species.

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the murder of Nazim Jokhio, who was allegedly tortured to death for recording a PPP MPA and his Arab friends' hunting expedition of the vulnerable houbara bustards in Thatta.

In a statement, the HRCP wrote that "the brutal murder of Nazim Jokhio at the behest of a PPP MPA lays bare yet again the chronic impunity enjoyed by the wealthy and privileged."

The statement further added that Jokhio's murder is a "national disgrace" because he was just a citizen concerned about an endangered species. 

"Now that the perpetrator is in custody, his political standing must not be allowed to prevent justice from taking its course."

It should be noted that earlier in the day, MPA Sindh Assembly Jam Owais had been remanded to police custody for three days in a case pertaining to Johkio's murder.

Owais was presented before a court today after he surrendered to police following protests. He was nominated in FIR no 457/21 registered at the Memon Goth Police Station.

During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that the suspect had surrendered to the police, after which the judge ordered to present a progress report in the case at the next hearing and granted a three-day remand to the police.

Two more suspects, Haider and Mir Ali, were also remanded to police custody for three days.

The family of deceased Nazim Jokhio had been staging protests in Thatta and Karachi against the gruesome murder. CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah had also taken notice of the protests and had directed the police to get the FIR registered as desired by Nazim’s family.

The incident

A few days back, Nazim Jhokio had stopped a car with a foreign registration number plate and asked the people sitting inside the vehicle why they blocked the road and what they were doing there. During a verbal brawl, the youth filmed the entire episode.

Nazim was given death threats and they tried to snatch his mobile. He, somehow, managed to escape from the scene and uploaded the video on social media platforms which went viral.

The PPP MPA called him at his house and tortured him, his family had claimed. The family had said that Nazim was tortured to death by the PPP lawmaker.

On Wednesday, the police recovered Nazim's body from Memon Goth in Malir and got his post-mortem done.