The people of Pakistan were stunned when they watched the video showing Rangers personnel killing a young man in cold blood in a public place during the night of 8 June 2011. Passers-by gathered around the scene and made videos of the incident. The videos were then supplied to different television channels who broadcast them immediately. Before the video was aired, making the reality of the incident public, a spokesperson of the Sindh Rangers, a paramilitary force, issued a press statement claiming that the 25 year old Sarfaraz Shah was killed during an encounter with Rangers deployed outside a park in Karachi. The press release further claimed that Sarfaraz Shah was caught red handed while snatching cash and valuables from park visitors and that when Rangers officials entered the park, the young man fired at them. The Rangers went on to claim that they then returned fire, killing the so-called ‘bandit’. The AHRC condemns this murder and demands an inquiry into the functions of the Rangers who excise police powers in Pakistan.
