Police arrest former minister’s son accused of killing Lahore teenager

LAHORE: Punjab police said on Thursday that they have arrested the son of a former minister accused of gunning down a 13-year-old boy after a minor road accident.

The arrest came hours after the incident took place near Cavalry Ground in Lahore Cantt, where police said Mustafa Kanju and his guards also wounded a passerby when he and his three guards opened fire following a minor road accident involving his vehicle and a motorcycle.

Photo of 13-year-old victim Zain Rauf.

The slain youth was identified as Zain Rauf, who according to police was a student of class 9 while the injured was recognised as Zain’s friend Hasnain.

Mustafa Kanju, the son of former state minister for foreign affairs Siddique Kanju, escaped the scene and was on the run before police arrested him from the accused native town of Kohra Pakka after carrying out several raids.

Police said Kanju was under custody and would soon be interrogated.

The weapon used in the killing was yet to be recovered – a key piece of evidence for a murder case.

Police had earlier arrested three guards accompanying Kanju and seized the vehicle after reaching at the site immediately after the incident.


DIG Operations Haider Ashraf had earlier told Geo News that Kanju’s name had been put on the Exit Control List (ECL) to arrest him before he attempts to flee from the country.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken notice of the incident and had sought a report from the DIG Operations.

Earlier, mother of the slain teenager has appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and the chief justice of Pakistan for the swift deliverance of justice.

Members of Zain’s family had alleged that they had received phone calls from the family of the accused threatening them and asking them to back down from the charges. They also appealed to the Punjab government to provide the family protection.