ANP leaders ordered Perveen Rehman’s murder, suspect confesses to involvement

A suspect arrested last month has reportedly confessed to his involvement in the assassination of social activist Parveen Rehman.

In his confession, Amjad Hussain from Manghopir area of Karachi stated that local leaders of Awami National Party (ANP) had hired Taliban militants to assassinate Rehman.

Amjad Hussain was arrested on October 24 and was charged under section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 in connection with Rehman’s murder.

Renowned social worker Rehman was the director of Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), dedicated to the development of impoverished neighbourhoods across the country. She was assassinated in March 2013.

Following the arrest of Amjad Hussain, a joint investigation team (JIT) was constituted which recently completed its findings and submitted a report to Sindh Home Department.

The accused told the JIT members that he and Raheem Swati, the prime suspect in the case, had been residing in front of the OPP office.

He disclosed that ANP leaders Ayaz Swati and Raheem Swati had been enraged over Rehman’s repeated refusals to provide them with a designated area to construct a karate centre inside the OPP compound. They took Rehman’s calling them “ANP’s qabza mafia” as a serious insult and decided to exact revenge.

Subsequently, the two politicians convened a meeting at Raheem Swati’s residence in January 2013, in which Amjad Hussain was also present. They planned Rehman’s assassination during this meeting and later hired Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members to carry out the job, the accused confessed.

On March 13, 2013, the TTP hires targeted Parveen Rehman in front of Pakhtoon Market at 07:30 pm, he further revealed.

The following day, police killed a Taliban operative named Qari Bilal in an encounter and claimed he was the murderer, resulting in a closure of the case.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan in April 2014 ordered authorities to conduct a fresh probe into Parveen Rehman’s murder after a judicial inquiry had revealed that police officers had manipulated the investigation.