Prof Hasan Arif’s daughter says father died of heart attack: report

KARACHI: Daughter of Professor Hasan Zafar Arif on Wednesday stated that her father had died of heart attack and that “unless the post-mortem report says otherwise”, it should be considered a natural death, according to a report by a private media outlet.

In a statement, Shehrazade Zafar-Arif, without naming any individual or group, said that certain people were trying to exploit her father’s death for their “own political agenda”, while others were, out of a sense of love and admiration for him, trying to seek justice for what they believed to be a crime.

“My father, Dr Zafar-Arif, died on Sunday the 14th of January of what all evidence points to as being a heart attack,” she stated, adding that his death was being portrayed as a brutal murder and “some are, disgracefully, putting up photoshopped images of his body on social media with claims that he was tortured. I don’t think I need to point out how disrespectful this is towards his memory and his family”.

Earlier, Police recovered the body of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) leader Professor Dr Hasan Zafar Arif from Karachi’s outlying Ibrahim Hyderi area.

“The body of Hassan Zafar Arif, son of Maqbool Hassan, 70-72-years-old, was found from car number ANC-016, Lancer silver at Ilyas goth,” station house officer at Ibrahim Hyderi police station confirmed.

“The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC),” he added.

Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Executive Director Seemi Jamali informed media that the professor’s body was brought to the hospital’s emergency department where doctors have pronounced him dead already.

“Body does not bear any marks of torture or bullet wounds,” added Seemi Jamali.

Senior Superintendent Police Malir Rao Anwar also said that no marks of torture were found on Dr Arif’s body.