SSP hand behind Yusuf's murder alleged

Initial investigations into the murder of blasphemy accused, Yusuf Ali, at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Tuesday indicate that a major sectarian group that was banned last year may have been involved.

The Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) had been accused by Yusuf's lawyers of harassing and persecuting him, from the time he was first charged with blasphemy in 1997. It is also claimed that some SSP leaders in the Millat Park area where Yusuf preached were in fact paid by his enemies for this.

Hafiz Mohammed Tariq, the prisoner who shot Yusuf dead at the jail, while inmates were taking a walk between barracks, has told interrogators, according to sources, that he had "heard many bad things about Yusuf Ali and wanted to kill him."

Of concern to authorities is the emerging evidence that suggests a possible connivance by prison staff in the incident.

"Frankly, even the timing of this 'walk' between barracks is a little unusual as is the route taken that allows prisoners to cross right by each other," maintained a senior police official.

The smuggling of a loaded pistol, used to shoot down Yusuf, into the jail is also raising concerns. All senior staff at the prison, including the superintendent, Mian Farooq Nazir, and his deputy, Sheikh Nadeem, have been suspended immediately.

An inquiry is under way, and is led by the deputy inspector general, prisons, Srafraz Mufti. Mufti also stated yesterday that,"the five people suspended at Kot Lakhpat will not be reinstated till the investigation is complete."

Mufti, who enjoys a reputation as a 'honest' officer, also said the incident was "quite shocking" and that it raised "very major concerns."

Disturbingly, this is not the first case of its kind at the jail. In 1992, another blasphemy accused, Tahir Iqbal, was apparently poisoned to death before his case could be heard by a court.

The death at Kot Lakhpat of self-confessed child murderer, Javed Iqbal, who was found hanging in his cell last year, also remains a subject of suspicion, with Iqbal's lawyers apparently convinced this was not a case of suicide as maintained by the jail authorities.

'Inquiries' ordered into these cases, as with many 'official' investigations, have produced no results even years after the incidents.

Human rights groups, which have expressed shock over Yusuf Ali's murder, have called for an independent judicial inquiry, and fear that appointing a prison officer to inquire into the case may merely lead to "another cover-up", despite Mufti's sound reputation.

Yusuf Ali's cell-mate at Kot Lakhpat Jail was newspaper chief editor and owner Rehmat Shah Afridi, who was also a witness to the killing, and has stated he will provide "eyewitness evidence". Afridi, owner of the English-language daily, The Frontier Post, faces a death sentence on a narcotics charge. He is currently appealing this verdict, and was stated to have become "very good friends" with Yusuf Ali.