Musharraf's former aide-de-camp commits suicide

A former aide-de-camp of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in his residence at Islamabad, his family has said.

The body of Major (retired) Syed Tanveer Ali was found in his flat in Sector F-11 in the heart of Islamabad on Thursday. He retired from the army in 2004.

Authorities of a private hospital informed the police that they had received Ali's body with a bullet injury to the head. Ali's relatives told the police that they had heard a gunshot from the bathroom of his bedroom, which was locked from inside.

When they broke into the bathroom, they said they found Ali lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The police quoted Ali's relatives as saying that he was in distress due to financial losses suffered by his private security agency.

However, a report in the Daily Times newspaper quoted its sources as saying that there was an element of mystery surrounding Ali's death.

He was right-handed but the bullet wound was on the left side of his head and the 9 mm pistol used in the alleged suicide had no fingerprints, the report said.

The body was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Ali's family decided not to have an autopsy done, the daily quoted its sources as saying.

An army brigadier arrived at PIMS and told officials he had been tasked to move the body to the Combined Military Hospital. Officials then handed over the body to the brigadier and Ali's family, the report said.