ISLAMABAD, 23 June 2007 — Police arrested a former Cabinet minister yesterday in connection with the suspected murder of a Canadian woman at their shared home in the Pakistani capital.
Detectives have been investigating Shahid Jamil Qureshi since he took the body of Kafila Siddiqui, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, to a hospital in Islamabad on June 9.
Qureshi, who resigned as minister of state for communications three days later, has denied any wrongdoing and had remained free on bail.
However, a judge yesterday granted a police request for his official arrest after detectives told a court they believed Kafila was murdered, said Ghulam Mohammed Baqir, a senior police official involved in the case.
Qureshi was led away in handcuffs for further questioning, Baqir said.
Pakistani newspapers have reported that relatives of Kafila, a resident of the Toronto area, have accused Qureshi of holding her against her will at the house and said they feared he was responsible for her death. Canadian authorities had earlier asked Pakistani officials about the family’s concern for her well-being.
Qureshi has said he believes the woman died of natural causes and that her family’s allegations were “baseless.” Officials said an initial examination of the body found no suspicious marks. Investigators are awaiting the results of other forensic tests.
Kafila’s spouse Suleman Qaisar and brother Mustafa Qayyum had earlier rejected the postmortem report saying the minister had used his influence to manipulate the medical report.
According to another report, Kafila was in Islamabad trying to win a contract through Qureshi for the consultancy of Pakistan’s two major projects Munda Dam and Lowari Top Tunnel.
Qureshi earlier told police Kafila had a financial dispute with her husband.
He said he had found Kafila vomiting on the floor at the house where they had been staying and had taken her to hospital. The minister said Kafila had been running a consultancy firm in Islamabad aimed at attracting Canadian investment.
