KARACHI: The post-mortem report of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist, who died in paramilitary Rangers custody on Tuesday, revealed on Thursday that he was severely tortured.

The death of Aftab Ahmed sparked controversy in the country and got the attention of Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif, who on Wednesday ordered a probe to know the cause of Ahmed’s death.

The MQM worker was arrested on May 1 by the Rangers who took him into custody for 90 days after an antiterrorism court granted his remand. On Tuesday, Ahmed was brought to Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College (JPMC) in an unconscious state.

The Rangers said Ahmed died of cardiac arrest, but the party and family members said he had no medical history of cardiovascular disease. The MQM leaders said Ahmed’s death was ‘extra judicial’ killing.

The medico-legal report said Ahmed bore severe torture marks on his back, legs, hips and other parts of the body. The result of the chemical examination is still awaited.

The post-mortem report said Ahmed was brought to the emergency department of the hospital at 7.55am. The time of his death has been mentioned as 8.20am.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the killing.

“The circumstances of Aftab Ahmed’s death, and why a number of apparently healthy people in Rangers’ custody develop serious conditions or even die, must not go uninvestigated any longer,” it said.

Amnesty International called for independent inquiries into Ahmed’s death.

“A series of contradictory statements by the paramilitary force in the hours since the news of Aftab Ahmed’s death emerged point to attempts to mislead the public and resist accountability,” Jameen Kaur, Amnesty International’s deputy director for South Asia said in a statement.

The MQM said hundreds of extrajudicial killings have been carried out during a “clean-up” operation that began in 2013 in a city already plagued by violence.

In September last year, the MQM alleged that the Rangers had killed four of its workers who had “disappeared” months ago after being kidnapped by the force.