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Father claims ‘hitman’ son is innocent

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: The father of Hafiz Usman alias Abbas, whom Quetta police arrested on Thursday and blamed to have killed 28 Shia-Hazaras, said his son is “innocent” and the charges against him are “fake”.

Talking to Daily Times, Usman’s father, Ali Dost Muhammad, said, “Police have been trying to arrest Usman Saifullah Kurd, a key operative of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi – wanted for the murder of several Shia-Hazara. As the ‘real culprit’ is hard to catch, they arrested my son for being the criminal’s namesake.” He said police had randomly picked up dozens of people with the name ‘Usman’. Dost, a father of twelve, said that Usman was his eldest son and used to work at a showroom in Quetta. He sent Usman to the Khairul Madaris near the Quetta Degree College. Usman memorised the holy Quran and also used to bake bread at the same seminary.

“I forced Usman to leave the madrassa and do some thing else to earn a living. Later, he worked as a waiter at several restaurants. I am a poor man and cannot hire a lawyer,” he said. Usman got married in 2007 and was living with his wife in a rented house. However, he regularly visited his parents. Dost said Usman was a practicing Muslim and recited the holy Quran daily. “I can assure you he is not an extremist. He respected everyone irrespective of his or her sect,” he added. On November 9, police raided Usman’s rented house located on Podhgili Chowk at around 3pm. Later, they also raided his father’s house and beat up Usman’s younger brother.

“When I asked who they were and why they entered our house without knocking the door they roughed me up,” Inayatullah, 18, said. Family said police arrested Usman when the latter was returning home from the showroom. “I am glad my son showed the victory sign before the cameras indicating that he was not guilty. I am sure he will be acquitted respectfully,” Dost said. Officials refused to comment, saying this could distract the interrogation.

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