Umme Rubab says Sindh’s sardars got licence to kill anyone

DADU: Lawyer Umme Rubab Chandio has vowed to challenge the verdict in the Mehar triple murder case at the Sindh High Court (SHC).

On Monday, a model criminal court acquitted all eight accused in the killing of Chandio’s family, after an eight-year-long legal battle.

Speaking to the media, Umme Rubab appeared determined and resolute. She said she will appeal the verdict in higher courts, refusing to bow down to what she called injustice.

Regretting the court’s decision, she said, “Sindh’s Sardars have a licence to kill anyone, anytime, and in any manner who oppose the chieftain system, without accountability. There is no one to question them.”

She warned that the verdict’s implications extend beyond her family, affecting oppressed communities across the province. “I am resilient,” she said. “This has strengthened my resolve. I will prevail.”

Umme Rubab added, “I will take this legal battle to the High Court and the Supreme Court, and I am fully optimistic that justice will be served. While this is the state court’s decision, I have already won the case in the court of the people.”

The court acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Sardar Ahmed Chandio, his brother Burhan Khan Chandio, former SHO Karim Chandio, and Sattar Chandio, Ali Gohar Chandio, Murtaza Chandio, Sikandar Chandio, and Zulfiqar Chandio.

Strict security measures were in place in and around the court during the verdict announcement.

The gruesome incident occurred in Mehar, Sindh, on January 17, 2018, when armed men attacked a house and killed Chandio’s father, grandfather, and uncle. Those killed included Raees Karamullah Chandio, then chairman of Baldia Union Council in Mehar taluka, and his two sons, Mukhtiar Chandio, a member of the district council, and another son associated with the Tumandar Council.

According to the family, the attack was allegedly carried out at the behest of Sardar Ahmed Chandio, a tribal chieftain in Mehar, and his younger brother Burhan Chandio, who was serving as an aide to the Sindh chief minister at the time.

Umme Rubab had been pursuing justice for her slain family members on her own, despite reportedly receiving death threats.

The case attracted nationwide attention in 2021 when a video of a barefoot Umme Rubab walking out of a courtroom went viral on social media. At the time, she accused the Sindh government of protecting those responsible for her family’s killings.