Former intelligence official and defence analyst Brigadier (r) Asad Munir committed suicide on Friday over alleged harassment by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
According to police, Munir’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment situated in the Diplomatic Enclave. Following the legal procedure, the body was handed over to his family who refused to allow the autopsy.
Reportedly, Munir was under stress after emergence of media reports that NAB has decided to file a reference of abuse of office against him.
In a meeting held on Thursday, the anti-graft watchdog had decided to investigate Munir, a former member of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), and others for allegedly abusing their powers to restore a plot in F-11 of Islamabad while violating rules and regulations. In a suicide note circulating on social media, allegedly written by Asad Munir and addressed to the chief justice of Pakistan, he said that “a reference has been filed against me by the anti-graft body over the restoration of a plot back in 2008 but it was restored by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman”.
“The NAB has made my life miserable; the authority has placed my name on Exit Control List and initiated three investigations and two inquiries against me in just a year,” Munir wrote. “I have already submitted my asset details,” the note said. “I am further committing suicide to avoid humiliation, being handcuffed and paraded in front of the media,” he wrote in the note, urging the chief justice to take notice of conduct of the NAB officials “so that other government officials are not convicted for the crimes they have not committed”. Islamabad Superintendent of police (SP) Sayad Aziz said a first information report (FIR) cannot be registered as the family does not want to have a post-mortem examination conducted on the body.
A senior doctor at PIMS hospital said while post-mortem examination was not performed, superficial marks on the body are consistent with the cases of suicide. The doctor said there was no indication of any resistance, and ruled out the possibility that he may have been murdered.
Published in Daily Times, March 16th 2019.
