Dr Shah Nawaz Kunhbar was a hospital doctor in the city of Umerkot, Sindh Province. His colleagues remember him as a deeply religious person, as well as academically gifted. He graduated in the top ten students of his class, and was regarded by his professional peers as a dedicated doctor. He regularly organised free medical camps in Umerkot and surrounding villages, to provide healthcare services to local people.
Dr Kunhbar was also living with a mental health disorder, for which he had been receiving treatment for several years. On 12 September he went missing from home, possibly in the context of a psychotic episode.
On 17 September, Dr Kunhbar was accused by a local imam of posting ‘blasphemous content’ on social media. Dr Kunhbar denied the allegations, stating that his account had been hacked. However, the accusations led to violent protests in Umerkot, including an attack on a police station by protestors demanding Dr Kunhbar’s arrest.
On 18 September Dr Kunhbar was arrested in Karachi, where he had fled, and handed over to police in Mirpurkhas (Sindh Province) as the situation in Umerkot remained too tense. In the early hours of 19 September, Dr Kunhbar was shot dead by police. The police report claimed that Dr Kunhbar and another man had opened fire on them from a motorcycle. However, an independent inquiry into the incident found it had been staged, and concluded that Dr Kunhbar had been extrajudicially executed for religiously-motivated reasons.
Dr Kunhbar’s body was returned to his relatives for burial in his family’s home village, but his body was stolen by a mob who set it on fire. His father, a retired teacher, was warned by local clerics not to conduct any public mourning, due to the danger of further violence.
Dr Kunhbar is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.