A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer was martyred after intervening to protect a woman during an abduction attempt on Islamabad’s Ninth Avenue, police said on Sunday.
Group Captain Asim Tariq was travelling along Ninth Avenue in the federal capital when he saw a woman getting off a motorcycle while the rider was pulling her hand, police said.
Acting as a responsible citizen, he turned back and stopped near the motorcycle. The woman then ran to the other side of his vehicle.
Police said the suspect, identified as Saad Abbasi, began arguing with Group Captain Tariq before opening fire. The PAF officer later succumbed to his injuries, while the suspect fled the scene.
Read more: PAF officer martyred while saving woman in Islamabad: police
According to the woman’s statement to police, the suspect was her office colleague who had offered to take her to work.
She claimed that the suspect changed the route and attempted to take her elsewhere, leading to a struggle between them. The woman said that Group Captain Tariq intervened in time and kept her safe.
Police said law enforcement agencies were conducting operations to arrest the suspect. They added that Group Captain Tariq is survived by his widow, a daughter and a son.
Following the incident, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed condolences to the family of the martyred officer and sought a report from the Islamabad inspector general of police.
Naqvi directed authorities to arrest the suspect at the earliest, saying that no effort should be spared in ensuring justice for the family of the martyred officer.
Suspect arrested within nine hours
Islamabad Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said that they had arrested the suspect, belonging to Abbottabad, within nine hours of the fatal shooting of the PAF officer.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said the suspect and the woman worked together, lived in the Khanna area and travelled to work together.
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Abbasi wanted to forcibly take the woman with him, but she insisted she would not go anywhere else, he said.
IGP Rizvi said Group Captain Tariq stopped his vehicle after noticing the woman in difficulty and attempted to mediate between the two. He said the officer had rescued the woman from the suspect during the altercation.
He said that Group Captain Tariq was fatally shot at 11:21am, describing the killing of a serving military officer in a firing incident as a matter of serious concern.
IGP Rizvi said police constituted 11 investigation teams following the incident and arrested the suspect within nine hours.
