ISLAMABAD, 12 June 2007 — A junior federal minister of Pakistan was missing after the death of a Canadian woman who was staying at his residence for the last couple of months.
Sources said police was seeking permission to issue warrant of arrest against Minister of State for Communications Muhammad Shahid Jamil Qureshi. However, the minister called the Shalimar Police Station yesterday from some undisclosed place saying he was “innocent.”
Kafila Siddiqui, a 40-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, was brought to a hospital in Islamabad on Friday by the minister but was pronounced dead on arrival. The family of the woman has accused the minister of killing her, a police official said yesterday.
“The brother of Kafila Siddiqui, Mustafa Qayyum, has lodged a complaint with the police requesting legal action against the minister,” chief investigator Mansha Hussain said. His office was waiting for post-mortem results to be made public, he added.
Qureshi, who is a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, rejected the allegation as a conspiracy against him “to tarnish his political image,” the Dawn newspaper reported, citing a statement issued by the official.
The post-mortem report was clear and doctors feared that she might have died due to dehydration, he said.
Kafila had lived with the minister for the past two years while running a consultancy working to attract investment from Canada.
Her estranged husband reportedly arrived in Pakistan on Sunday evening.
