On Monday, Sindh police formally asked the provincial government to seek assistance from Balochistan authorities to arrest tribal leader Shahzain Marri, whose guards were recently detained for allegedly assaulting a citizen in Karachi.
The request follows the arrest of several guards by Karachi’s South Zone police, after a viral video showed them attacking two people in a car near Boat Basin. While police initially claimed to have arrested seven guards, an official police document later confirmed that only five were taken into custody.
According to South Zone DIG Syed Asad Raza, the main suspect in the case is Shahzain Marri, grandson of the late Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Bux Marri. Marri, along with his guards, allegedly assaulted a citizen and then fled to Balochistan.
Sindh Inspector General (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon wrote to the province’s chief home secretary, asking the Sindh government to coordinate with Balochistan authorities for the arrest of Marri and another suspect, Ghulam Qadir.
The letter referred to an earlier correspondence from DIG Raza, dated February 28, urging Sindh police to engage with their Balochistan counterparts for assistance in apprehending the suspects. The letter confirmed that five guards had been arrested, while Qadir’s location was traced to Balochistan.
The arrests stemmed from an FIR registered by Barkat Ali Soomro, a member of the Sindh People’s Youth Organisation, at the Boat Basin police station. The FIR accused five to six armed men of attacking Soomro and his friend Waqas Ahmed, using pistol butts and issuing threats, at around 3am on February 19.
According to the FIR, Soomro and Ahmed were driving near Boat Basin when a Surf jeep approached from behind. Despite giving way, the jeep deliberately reversed into their car. Several armed men then emerged from the vehicle, allegedly intoxicated, and physically assaulted the pair.
Viral footage from the incident captured a 4×4 vehicle colliding with a smaller Alto car, followed by armed men beating up the occupants. DIG Raza confirmed on Friday that operations were still underway to track down others involved in the incident.
He also revealed that modern weapons were recovered from the detained guards, and investigations were underway to verify whether the weapons were legally licensed.
