Mustafa murder: Prime suspect Armaghan's father remanded to police custody

• Police present suspect Kamran Asghar Qureshi in magistrate’s court.
• Prosecutor says suspect uncooperative, demands 3-day remand.
• Court orders medical exam, lawyer access, and FIR copy for suspect.

KARACHI: A local court on Friday remanded Kamran Asghar Qureshi —father of the prime suspect, Armaghan, in the Mustafa Amir murder case — into police custody for two days in a case related to illegal weapons and drug possession.

The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of the Karachi Police had arrested Qureshi on Thursday, from Armaghan's residence located in Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) Khayaban-e-Momin neighbourhood.

The police presented him before the court of Judicial Magistrate (South) earlier today. The court asked the suspect whether he had been subjected to any torture.

Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Shakeel Abbasi requested the court to grant police a three-day physical remand of the suspect, saying that they required his interrogation on the matter of weapons and drugs supply. He argued that the investigation team had the right to probe, as Qureshi was a cunning individual who was not cooperating.

The defence lawyer countered that Qureshi had been arrested outside his home on March 18 and was merely defending his son, who was already in custody. The prosecution alleged that the accused had threatened officials and others, instructed his son to go into hiding after Mustafa's murder, and issued threats via social media, with all evidence on record.

The court noted that while the defence claimed there were no private witnesses or case property, the prosecution had presented case-related evidence in court. The court directed that Qureshi be given a copy of the FIR, undergo a medical examination, and be allowed to meet his lawyer.

Additionally, the court instructed the staff to take the suspect to chambers for medical inspection.

Qureshi has been booked in a case of alleged possession of ice (drugs) and a 9mm pistol.

Kamran's arrest follows an anti-terrorism court's (ATC) fifth extension of the prime suspect’s physical remand in connection with Mustafa's kidnapping, murder, and drug trafficking case.

The investigation officer (IO) had previously revealed that Armaghan has admitted to confiding in his father the entire incident after Mustafa's murder, adding that his father had then advised him to leave Karachi and go into hiding, assuring him that they would also relocate the software house to another location.

The high-profile case also features the involvement of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other institutions that are probing various aspects.

Mustafa Amir murder case

The whole saga unfolded after Armaghan opened fire at a team of the AVCC — a specialised unit of the Karachi police responsible for tackling cases related to murder and extortion — during a raid at his residence in Karachi's DHA on February 8.

The deceased's body — found by police in a car near the Hub checkpost on January 12 and buried by the Edhi Foundation on January 16 — was exhumed and later buried by his family following the identity confirmation in the initial DNA report.

Meanwhile, the police have already handed over the laptops recovered from Armaghan's residence to the FIA along with his mobile phones for necessary analysis.

Furthermore, the black-and-silver American iron folding rod, allegedly used by Armaghan to beat Mustafa, has also been recovered from the Hub area, an officer confirmed to The News.

Police consider this recovery a major breakthrough that would significantly strengthen the case against Armaghan and help secure his conviction. The officer disclosed that Armaghan is no longer as defiant as before.