In a major development, a local court in Quetta on Friday approved the bail of Balochistan Communication Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran in the Barkhan triple murder case.
Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, who was arrested last month in the Barkhan murders case, sought bail from the sessions court. Bullet-riddled bodies of a woman and her two sons were found from a well near the minister’s residence in the Barkhan area.
According to the details, Session Judge Malik Sujhao Din heard today’s case and approved Abdul Rehman Khetran’s bail on surety bonds of Rs500,000 each citing a “lack of evidence”.
Read more: Balochistan minister’s house raided after Barkhan murders spark outrage
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Khetran’s lawyer Advocate Manzoor Rehmani said no charges were proved against his client.
Recognize A. Rehman Khetran? Yes, the one who has private jails & murderers people.
He has been bailed out.
Recognize Mahal Baloch? Yes, the one campaigned for human rights.
She has been sent to remand, with no bail.
Pakistan is heaven for criminals & hell for humanitarians pic.twitter.com/YP0jXYMKgY
— Jamal Baloch (@Jam__Baloch) March 10, 2023
Barkhan triple murder case
Three bullet-riddled bodies of the woman and her two sons were recovered from a well in Balochistan’s Barkhan district. The bodies had bullet wounds in their skulls and bore marks of torture, which pointed to their cause of death. Their hands and feet were tied with ropes, while the woman’s face was crushed.
At first, the victims were believed to be the family members of one Khan Muhammad Marri who was previously employed as a security guard with the provincial minister. He alleged that his wife and sons were being held in the private jail of Sardar Khetran, adding that five more of his children, including his 13-year-old daughter, were still languishing there.
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Prior to the discovery of the bodies, a video clip appeared on social media in which Giran Naz Marri, the wife of Khan Mohammad Marri, was pleading to be freed from Sardar Abdul Rehman’s detention. In the video Giran Naz Marri, while holding Quran, can be seen narrating how Sardar Abdul Rehman Kehtran sexually assaulted them and her 14-year-old daughter.
BREAKING from Balochistan's Barkhan, where bullet riddled bodies of woman and her 2 sons, found dumped in a borewell. They were allegedly held captive by minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran. protest demonstration yesterday for their recovery, after which bodies were found today
— خالد (@khalid_pk) February 21, 2023
However, confusion persisted on the identity of the victims after a coroner found that the female victim — initially identified by the police as Marri’s wife Gran Naz, who is in her 40s — was an as-yet unidentified woman aged around 18.
Nevertheless, the Barkhan murders have since then sparked intense public outrage both in Balochistan and across the country. Social media trends have been running where netizens are demanding justice for the Marri family. Leaders of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) have also condemned the murders and demanded an investigation.
On the other hand, levies personnel late on Wednesday night recovered abducted woman, Giran Naz, her four sons, and a daughter that were allegedly kept in the custody of Balochistan Minister for Construction and Communications Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran.