KHUZDAR, BALOCHISTAN: Asma Jatak’s Father Shot Dead in Khuzdar Hours After Her Appeal for Protection
According to the source, Inayatullah Jatak, father of Asma Jatak, a woman from Khuzdar, Balochistan was shot and killed just hours after she released a video message appealing for protection for herself and her family. Police have confirmed the incident.
Only hours before her father’s murder, Asma Jatak had issued a video statement holding Qurran revealing that Zahoor Jamalzai, the man accused of abducting her, was continuing to threaten her. She said that his group were threatening to kill her father and brothers and to abduct her again.
In her statement, she said clearly that if any harm came to her, her father, or her brothers, full responsibility would lie with Zahoor Jamalzai, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri (former Chief Minister and current MPA of Balochistan) and the sitting Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti.
She also warned that if the Balochistan government and local tribal leaders failed to provide her with justice and protection, she would be left with no choice but to take her own life.
Asma Jatak was abducted from Khuzdar Police Line area on February 5, 2024, by an armed group with state and government backing locally referred to as a “death squad“. Following the abduction, Zahoor Jamalzai claimed he had forcibly married her.
Widespread protests erupted across Balochistan over the incident, after which she was recovered through the intervention of the district administration and police. The government at the time announced action against the accused; however, according to Asma, the suspects have still not been arrested and continue to move about freely.
The affected family said that the group operates under the patronage of former Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri and that the group’s lead members including chief accused Zahoor Jamalzai and his brother operate in Zehri and the surrounding areas.
