An award-winning Pakistani filmmaker and his female friend have been arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of a former banker in the port city of Karachi, according to a media report today.
Mansoor Mujahid, best known for his film "Seedlings", and his friend were arrested yesterday.
The 33-year-old victim, Faisal Nabi, had gone to Mujahid's apartment with a friend three days ago, The Express Tribune reported.
Nabi's friend, who was not identified, later contacted police about the incident and this led to the arrest of the two, said Clifton police station chief Kansan Deen.
According to Deen, Nabi was killed early on June 20 at Mujahid's flat.
Later, Muhajid allegedly tried to burn the body with acid to prevent its identification.
"The body was wrapped in a white cloth and then dumped outside Sun Rise Apartments in Clifton Block 2," Deen said.
Police raided Mujahid's house and arrested him with his female friend.
Police later found Nabi's the body on the basis of information allegedly provided by Mujahid.
"He (Mujahid) called his friend Nabi to his apartment for a party," said investigation officer Inspector Saleem.
"We have yet to ascertain what actually happened there but it is clear that the accused, Mujahid, had taken MDMA (ecstasy) pills and shot the victim twice in the head," Saleem said.
The alleged murder weapon, a .22-bore imported pistol, was found in Mujahid's flat.
Acting on a complaint from Nabi's brother-in-law, Nayal Khan, police registered an FIR for the murder that named both Mujahid and his friend.
Police registered another FIR against Mujahid for possessing an unlicensed weapon.
Nabi, a father of two sons and a daughter, was unemployed.
He earlier worked as a banker for HSBC in Dubai and for Muslim Commercial Bank in Pakistan.
Mujahid was a recent addition to Pakistan's new breed of filmmakers.
Besides the award-winning film "Seedlings" - whose Urdu title was "Lamha" - Mujahid was also involved in making documentaries, music videos and programmes for television.
