Summary of case

On February 16, 2020, the body of a journalist associated with KTN news channel and Sindhi-language daily Kawish, Aziz Memon, was found in a water channel in Mehrabpur city of Sindh's Naushahro Firoze district.

Quoting sources, Dawn reported that before he went missing, Memon had asked a cameraman he worked with to drive him to a location where he was to attend a ceremony. Villagers later spotted his body in the canal.

According to the report, the journalist “often received threats of dire consequences during his 30-year-long career”. One such threat was from a Member of the National Assembly, after which Memon left his hometown and moved to Islamabad for some time.

According to reports, about a year before his death, Memon had released a video in which he said that officials from the ruling party in Sindh province, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), along with the local police had threatened him over his reporting. Memon’s reporting had included the allegation that people were paid to attend PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s train March.

In the wake of Memon’s death, federal minister Fawad Chaudhry had requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to “take notice of the mysterious death” of the journalist.

Meanwhile, Bilawal had also condemned the murder and added that journalists should work with their allies, Dawn reported.

A joint investigation team (JIT) was also set up by the provincial government to probe the death.

Updates

In April, Memon’s DNA report was released, which according to Dawn, had “found traces of some other human DNA”. However, a meeting of the JIT said this did not prove that Memon had been murdered.

A month later, on May 30, Dawn reported that the JIT had concluded that the case was a “well-planned murder”. Three suspects had been arrested earlier, however, the prime suspect, Mushtaq Sehto, and four other individuals alleged to be his accomplices were still at large.

In June, two more suspects — Zafar Sehto and Zulfiqar Sehto — were booked for Memon's murder and were sent to jail on judicial remand.
Nearly two years later, on May 20, 2022, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon announced that Mushtaq Sehto was arrested in the desert area in Shaheed Benazirabad district.
Speaking to PPF, Memon’s son Faiq Aziz shared that his father’s case is still ongoing. In the latest hearing, on February 15, 2023, Mushtaq Sehto had requested bail but this request was turned down, Aziz said. He added that one of the suspects, Shah Sehto, had still not been arrested.
Memon’s nephew Mustafeed Rehman told PPF in June 2023 that nine accusers had so far been arrested in the case. However, Memon’s brother Faiq Memon had forgiven four of them, including Frahan, Zafar, Zulfiqar, and Ameero. However, Mushtaq Sehto, Irshad Sehto, Nazeer Sehto, and Awais Qureshi are under court trials, and Ahshad Sehto is an absconder in the case.
In another development regarding court proceedings, the late journalist’s brother Hafeez Memon, who was the complainant of the case, died in May 2023. This will require a renewal of the complainant’s application in the next court proceeding on June 23, legal representative Imtiaz Memon said.