Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi said on Sunday that the suspect in the martyrdom of Group Captain Asim Tariq was arrested within nine hours following an investigation involving 11 teams, CCTV footage, call data records and artificial intelligence.
The IGP said that Group Captain Asim Tariq, was martyred at about 11am in Islamabad after intervening to protect a woman from an alleged attempt to force her into a vehicle.
The IGP said the suspect, Saad Abbasi, and the woman, Nimra, had recently been working together. He said the suspect had been providing pick-and-drop services to the woman for about 10 days.
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According to the police, the suspect allegedly attempted to force the woman to accompany him to a park against her wishes. The woman refused, insisting that she did not want to go anywhere else.
The IGP said Group Captain Asim Tariq witnessed the incident and asked the suspect to step away from the woman. The suspect then allegedly opened fire with a pistol, fatally wounding the officer before fleeing the scene. Police said the Group Captain prevented the woman from being taken away by force.
The police chief termed the investigation as highly important and challenging. He said 11 investigation teams were constituted to trace the suspect.
Investigators examined footage from 275 Safe City cameras and another 100 surveillance cameras. They also analysed call data records, used artificial intelligence and traced the suspect's messages, leading to the identification of his relatives and associates.
The IGP said police also found that the suspect had allegedly taken another woman to Mianwali about a month earlier. He added that the suspect belongs to Abbottabad and that a police team was dispatched there during the investigation.
Police carried out 13 raids in Islamabad before arresting Saad Abbasi within nine hours of the shooting. The IGP said the suspect attempted to evade the security agencies but was ultimately taken into custody.
The police chief said Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi remained informed of developments throughout the investigation. He added that more than 10 officers took part in the operation.
The IGP expressed condolences to the family of Group Captain Asim Tariq. He said all legal requirements would be fulfilled and the case would be taken to its logical conclusion to seek the maximum punishment available under the law.
Moreover, he added that the suspects in the farmhouse case remain in prison and said police had solved all recent high-profile cases. According to the IGP, serious crime has declined by about 30 per cent over the past six months, while overall crime has also fallen significantly.
The IGP said police are preparing for several VIP programmes in the coming days.
