KARACHI: A provincial lawmaker in Pakistan's Sindh province on Friday surrendered himself to the police in a case relating to the murder of a youth, which triggered a protest by the victim's relatives and a rigorous campaign for justice on social media.  

The body of the young man, Nazim Jokhio, was found inside a Malir farmhouse on Wednesday, according to the police and the deceased's relatives. The victim had died after being thrashed with sticks and punches in a scuffle.  

Nazim had stopped and filmed some foreigners while hunting rare houbara bustards in his village in Thatta district, some 130 kilometers east of Karachi, according to the first information report (FIR) of the incident. Late on Tuesday night, Sindh Assembly member Jam Awais summoned Nazim to his residence where he was tortured to death.  

"MPA Jam Awais alias Gohram, along with Niaz Salar, Ahmed Shoro, Haider Ali and Mehr Ali, killed my brother by kicking and punching, and beating him with batons close to the gate of Jam House," the FIR quoted Nazim's brother Afzal as telling the police.  

MPA Awais, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Sindh, surrendered in the wee hours of Friday, after Nazim's relatives staged a sit-in on the National Highway. A local court in Karachi later remanded him into police custody for his alleged role in the murder case.  

On Wednesday, a video of a vehicle carrying foreigners who had come for hunting the rare birds started circulating on social media. It showed Nazim getting into an argument with a man in the car.  

In another video, Nazim says he was tortured and threatened for filming the “guests” of some influential individuals.  

Details of the incident took to social media and #JusticeForNazimJokhio became one of the top trends on Twitter.   

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took notice of the incident and spoke to the deceased's brother, Afzal Jokhio, while a delegation comprising provincial ministers visited the protest sit-in to assure justice to the aggrieved family.  

On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also visited the residence of Nazim Jokhio in Karachi's Malir district and extended his condolences to the bereaved family, CM Shah's spokesperson Rasheed Channa said.  

“I have directed the police to lodge an FIR with the family's consent,” CM Shah was quoted as saying. "Justice will prevail."