Pakistan: UN officials call for investigation into Senator Kakar’s death

In a joint letter written on Dec 27 last year, which was made public this week, the rapporteurs had urged the government to reply within 60 days, reports Dawn News.

Failing this, they said, “this communication and any response received from the government will be made public and also made available in the report to the Human Rights Council”.

“On 17 June 2021, Usman Kakar, a member of the Pashtun minority, a former Senator and regional lea­der of the nationalist Pakh­tun­kh­­wa Milli Awami Party, was found in his house in Quetta, Balochistan, with blood flowing from a head injury. The cause of the head injury is unknown. However, there are concerns that he could have been attacked,” the letter said.

Kakar had previously recei­ved death threats, and referred to them as coming from intelligence agencies in his final speech in parliament, the letter said.

The UN officials who signed the letter include Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; me­­mbers of Working Group on Enforced or Involun­t­ary Disappear­ances and Special Rapporteur on minority issues.

About the alleged “Kill List” the Special Rappo­r­teurs was quoted as saying by Dawn News: “The list of at least ten individuals was published in a Facebook post by the former spokesperson of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).”