Pakistan minister accused of keeping private prison after 3 bodies found near his house

A Pakistani minister has been accused of killing three people and hiding their bodies in a well near his house in the Barkhan district, Balochistan.

Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, the Balochistan minister for communication and works, has been accused of not only killing these people but also for keeping a private prison at his residence.

His arrest came after police raided his house on Monday and found the bullet-riddled bodies of a woman and her two sons near his house. The victims have been identified as Giran Naz, 40, and her two sons, Mohammad Nawaz, 22, and Abdul Qadir, 15.

Their bodies had signs of abuse and torture. Their hands and feet were tied with ropes, according to a report in the Pakistani publication Dawn. Naz's husband, Khan Muhammad Marri, has alleged that his family was kept in a private jail in Haji Kot by the minister for the last four years.

He added that five more of his children, including his 13-year-old daughter, are still languishing in the private prison.

Marri has claimed that his family was imprisoned after he failed to testify against the minister's son, Sardar Inam Khetran. The father and son are embroiled in a legal conflict, but there is not much information available about the case.

In fact, the minister's son even took to social media to share photographs of Marri's children. He accused his father of keeping them imprisoned at his house. He urged the authorities to take immediate action against his father.

Meanwhile, the minister has denied the allegations stating that a conspiracy has been hatched against him, which happens every time around elections. He called the incident "propaganda created to tarnish his political reputation."

The Balochistan police have launched an investigation into the matter, and more raids are expected to take place at his properties.

The incident has sparked outrage in the region. The Marri tribesmen have taken to the streets and refused to bury the bodies of the victims until the police register a first information report (FIR) against Khetran.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan also condemned the incident and asked authorities to take strict action against the accused.

"Strongly condemn illegal incarceration, physical abuse & killing of a poor Baloch woman & her children in Khetran, Balochistan in private jail of Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, a provincial minister. Immediate action must be taken against this law of the jungle," the minister wrote in a Twitter post.

This is not the first time that the minister has been accused of keeping a private prison. In 2014, police recovered seven people from his private jail at his residence. At the time, Khetran had to surrender to the police after they registered a kidnapping case against him. He was later released.