Karachi IT engineer kills boss over unpaid wages, highlights Pakistan’s economic crisis
KARACHI: Police arrested a Karachi software engineer on Tuesday for allegedly killing his company’s chief executive officer over unpaid wages, in a case that highlighted the country’s dire economic situation and soaring cost of living.
Shoaib Khan, who recently quit his job as a web developer with the company, visited the software house’s offices on the city’s busy Shahr-e-Faisal Road on Monday evening and stabbed his former boss, Naveed Khan.
According to a preliminary police report on the incident, the company’s CEO succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.
“Shoaib Khan has been arrested on suspicion of murder,” Tipu Sultan police station chief Tariq Mehmood told Arab News. “He admitted to stabbing the victim following a heated argument over three months’ unpaid salary, which had led to Shoaib’s resignation from his job.”
Mehmood said the killing did not appear to have been premeditated.
“The accused used a knife available in the office and was not carrying a weapon, which indicates that the incident was not pre-planned,” he reported.
Imtiaz Khan, brother of the late Shoaib and working as a web support manager at the company, said he was present when Shoaib went to the CEO’s vacation home.
“We rushed to the room and took him to the hospital, but he died on the way,” he told Arab News.
“My brother is survived by a widow and three children,” he added. “The youngest, a son, was born just 10 days ago.”
The incident highlights Pakistan’s serious economic problems, making life increasingly difficult for a large proportion of its population.
A father was arrested in Naushah-ul-Feroze district of Sindh province last Sunday for burying his daughter alive.
The accused, identified as Machar Rajpur, told police that he was unable to afford the medical expenses of his daughter and financial circumstances had forced him to take up the desperate act.
