ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad-based blogger and social media activist, Muhammad Bilal Khan, was killed in the federal capital late on Sunday night.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Malik Naeem told reporters that 22-year-old Khan, who was with his uncle Ehtesham, was attacked in the G-9/4 area. Khan was killed while his uncle was severely injured in the attack and is currently undergoing treatment at PIMS.
According to the police official, Khan — who has over 16,000 followers on Twitter, over 48,000 on his YouTube channel and over 22,000 followers on Facebook — received a phone call from an unidentified person to come to G-9, “where a man took him into the forest”.
The suspect then used a dagger to murder Khan, said police, adding that the sound of firing was also heard from the area.
Funeral prayers for Khan were offered at the high school ground Bari Sheikh-ul-Bandi, Abbottabad. One funeral prayer was offered in Aabpara in Islamabad.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Sunday night at 11pm at Karachi Company police station by the victim’s father Abdullah under Section 302 (premeditated murder), 304 (proof of qatl-i-amd liable to qisas), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
According to Abdullah, he was at his cousin’s house in Bara Kahu, when at around 9:30pm, he received a call from a cousin (Ehtesham) that he and Khan had been attacked by unidentified individuals and were injured.
He said that when he reached PIMS emergency, his son had passed away. Abdullah added that various parts of his son’s body had marks of a sharp tool.
Abdullah said that the incident had created fear among people and called for strict action to be taken against the suspects who had killed his son and injured his cousin.
The late blogger’s phone is in police custody where the record is being accessed.
The father of the deceased, seen in a video addressing a group of men, said that his son had no personal enmity. He said his son spent his life talking about Islam.
My son’s “only fault was that he spoke about the the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions”, he added, saying he was proud of his son.