SP Dawar murder: Some elements trying to destabilise Pakistan, says Afridi

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ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Khan Afridi on Thursday spoke about Superintendent Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar’s martyrdom and said “some elements are trying to destabilise Pakistan”.

Addressing the Senate, the minister of state for interior narrated the events from the time SP Dawar went missing from Islamabad on October 27 to when the Afghan government confirmed his martyrdom on November 14.

“SP Dawar used to receive death threats and his brother and sister-in-law had also been martyred earlier,” Afridi said as he took to the floor of the Upper House.

“An FIR that SP Dawar had gone missing was registered on October 28,” he said while adding that the Afghan government confirmed reports of his martyrdom on November 14.

He further shared that SP Dawar was “abducted from Islamabad and taken to Mianwali from where he was taken to Bannu and then to Afghanistan”. “There is no patrolling from the Afghan side on the border and we have conveyed this to them [Afghan government],” he added.

The minister of state for interior asserted, “Some people want to destabilise Pakistan.”

“We will make an example out of those responsible for SP Dawar’s murder and will make sure the case reaches its logical conclusion whether it is in Pakistan or Afghanistan," he vowed.

Afridi added, “SP Dawar’s matter was sensitive and we kept receiving reports from intelligence and security agencies that he could not be contacted and was being traced.”

"After the reports of his martyrdom were confirmed, the premier ordered an immediate inquiry," he added.

Afridi calls for inquiry into Safe City project

Afridi also criticised the previous government’s Safe City project and said, “Over 1,800 cameras were purchased for the project but not even one has the ability to identify faces or number plates.”

“Of the cameras, 600 are not even functional,” he shared.

“I demand that an inquiry be conducted into the purchase of cameras for the Safe City project,” Afridi thundered. “In my own capacity, I will also probe into this matter.”

Further, he said, “The political party that received kickbacks through this project should be dealt with.”

Fateha prayers were also offered for SP Dawar during the Senate session. 

Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he has ordered an immediate inquiry into “the shocking tragedy of the murder” of SP Dawar.

“Have followed the shocking tragedy of the murder of SP Tahir Khan Dawar and ordered KP govt to coordinate with Islamabad police in holding an inquiry immediately,” the premier tweeted. “Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Afridi has been tasked to oversee it with an urgency and present the report to me,” he added.

SP Dawar had gone missing from Islamabad on October 27. Speculation over the fate of the missing officer mounted on Tuesday when pictures of a body found in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, purportedly that of Dawar, started circulating on social media platforms.

On Wednesday, Information Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Shaukat Yousufzai said the Afghan government had confirmed the martyrdom of SP Dawar. Speaking to media, the provincial minister said the body of the martyred police officer could not be received on Wednesday. "A police team returned from Torkham border crossing after waiting there all day," he said, adding that the body is likely to be handed over to Pakistan on Thursday.