The mystery of the apparent suicide of former cabinet minister Omar Asghar Khan deepened yesterday after his family and friends rejected that he could ever take such a drastic step.

There was "no political or family reason", which could have possibly forced him to commit suicide, a letter issued by Omar's family said yesterday ahead of the burial in Abbotabad.

There were rope marks on both his wrists that indicates that his hands had been tied, Saeed Akhtar, a spokesman of Omar's Qaumi Jamhoori Party, told Gulf News from Abbotabad while quoting the letter. "Our party demands a judicial inquiry into his death," Akhtar said.

Overnight, Naeem Sarwar Khan, a spokesman of Omar's father, Air Marshal(retd.) Asghar Khan, said in a statement that there were no "plausible reasons at all which might have possibly forced him to commit suicide."

"Omar Asghar Khan's family cannot accept the official version that he has committed suicide," he said. The family would wait till the police investigation are complete and "the real motives behind this ghastly act come to light."

Omar's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan on Tuesday in a bedroom of his sister's residence located in a posh neighbourhood of Karachi.

Top police officials say that the room was locked from inside and all the evidence shows that it was a suicide.

"Few people believe the police version," said B.M. Kutty, an old friend of Khan and senior trade unionist.

"His death is a great loss," he said. "We can never believe that such a dynamic and decent person would commit suicide. It is really unfortunate."

Kutty spent several hours with Khan just a day before his apparent suicide.

"He participated in a seminar on the impact of globalisation on the working class and spoke well - answering all the questions raised by workers in a very convincing manner."

The autopsy report says that Khan's death occurred due to hanging. Doctors also found traces of anti-depression medicines in his body.

Khan, who had a vast experience of running non-government organisations dedicated to development and environment issues, was popular among liberal and progressive people. He formed his own Qaumi Jamhoori Party last year after he residgned from the cabinet.