Pakistan minister shoots wife and commits suicide, domestic dispute suspected

A senior minister in Pakistan's Sindh province committed suicide after killing his wife with the same weapon. The bullet-riddled body of provincial minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani was found along with his wife's body at their Karachi home on Thursday, February 1.

The 71-year-old minister and his wife Fariha Razzaq lived in a posh Defence Housing Authority residence, where their bodies were found lying in a pool of blood, reported the Press Trust of India.

The police explained that the couple was shot at a close range and post-mortem reports have suggested that Bijarani shot his wife first and then went on to commit suicide. "On the basis of available crime scene or circumstantial evidence and initial post-mortem report, it appears that Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani killed his wife and then committed suicide with the same weapon," PTI quoted the deputy inspector general police, South Zone Karachi, as saying.

While Razzaq, a former lawmaker, had three gunshot wounds, the minister had one wound on his head. "According to initial forensic/ballistic report of Forensic Science Laboratory, all the empty bullet casings collected from the crime scene has been fired from the same weapon," the statement added. 

He also said that the deaths are now being investigated and blood samples, bullets and fingerprints have been collected from the crime scene. The police have also secured the crime scene seized the CCTV cameras installed at the couple's home. 

While the exact reason for the deaths is yet to be ascertained, the police questioned the domestic servants on the matter, who said that the couple had been having arguments for the past few days. 

Foul play also has been ruled out as police guards deployed outside the couple's house said that no outsider had entered the house. The guards also told the police that the couple's son was the only one who had entered the house from the backdoor, reported Pakistan Today.  Even though police now suspect that it was a case of domestic dispute, a few staff members into custody for questioning.