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Brave DHA inspector grappled with robber despite 8 bullets
It was only when he was shot in the head that Inspector Zafar Iqbal gave up.
Field Inspector Zafar Iqbal
KARACHI: The extraordinary courage of a DHA vigilance team field inspector cost him his life on Thursday morning but saved a family being robbed from any harm.
“The DHA officer boldly grabbed the suspect and tried to get him under control,” said one of the residents. “Even after being shot in the leg, the officer didn’t give up and the other robber kept firing.” It was only when he was hit in the head that he collapsed.
The men attempted the robbery early Thursday morning in Gizri limits. The residents of the home located off Khayaban-e-Bahria, Phase IV, discovered at around 7:45am that the men had entered the driveway. They alerted Rescue 15 and the DHA authorities who both dispatched mobile teams.
According to Field Inspector Fiaz Hussain, a DHA team reached within two to three minutes. “Not all the robbers had managed to enter the house when the team arrived but one was hiding just inside,” Hussain said, adding that because many officers were doing early morning school duty only a few were able to reach. Field Inspector Zafar Iqbal grabbed one of the robbers, a scuffle ensued and another robber opened fire, killing Zafar. The robber who opened fire was the one hiding inside, shooting Iqbal nine times, including a fatal bullet that struck his head.
The police arrived and returned fire, injuring robber Javed in the arm. The police were able to arrest him and his accomplice Waseem, a resident of Bilal Colony. The third suspect escaped unhurt.
According to the police, Zafar Iqbal was 53 years old, a retired subedar of the Pakistan Army, a resident of Akhtar Colony and had been working for DHA for over seven years. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The Administrator said DHA will do everything possible within its resources for his family. His body has been sent to his town Talagang.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2012.
Reader Comments (76)
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THIS MAN IS A HERO … 9 Bullets, OMG
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Real hero is Shaheed Zafar Iqbal. May Allah bless his soul.
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this man is a hero give him a nishan-e-imtiaz.
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We all need to stand up and respect the character of such individuals. He represents the best of the Pakistani military and the reason why the nation’s enemies think twice before trying to harm Pakistanis.
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A real Hero. May Allah bless his soul… It’s a pity to us that we have only got 2 comments for this news so far. If it would have been something related to PTI or PMLN, we would have got 50++ comments so far. Our hearts have gone black :(
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a hero indeed, hope his heroic act is not forgotten and both the DHA and the fmaily remember his suriviors!! MAy Allah bless him
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The loss of life is really tragic. I salute the bravery of Shaheed Zafar Iqbal.
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Salute to Shaheed Zafar. Hope that DHA Authorities and Government will do some thing for his family….
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RIP what a brave man! JazakAllah.
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Such a brave man. May Allah Almighty bless him.
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This is Committment. He is really a great Hero. We salute you to Shaheed Zafar Iqbal.
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This proves the level of training in the army, the bravery that the soldiers are nurtured with, Love Pakistan Army it has given the finest men. The Generals have made blunders always, but he soldiers and junior officers have always proved their mettle. Raja Aziz Bhatti stood firmly in the face of death n BRB, hundreds have shaheed in the War Against Terror. The nation salutes u.
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May GOD rest him in peace…..Ameen. Very brave act to do. I wonder what and when DHA authorities will do for his family…I hope they’ll do it within this era.
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A real Hero. May Allah bless his soul… If ONLY i could get his family details . ,,
coz I no what our governments are ….
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May Allah rest his soul in peace. Who these coward murderers are? Robbing and shooting innocent armless people is surely called cowardness.
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Indeed a Shaheed! Without any doubt…May God rest his soul in peace and DHA should really take care of his widow and children.
The least they can do is make sure the widow receives the salary till her life and the children should be given 100% scholarships at the DHA Institutions.
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“Zafar Iqbal was 53 years old, a retired subedar of the Pakistan Army”. Proud to have such people. Proud of the level of motivation of Pakistan Army soldiers who kept his committment even after his retirement.Recommend
DHA should ensure that free education is provided to the chilrdren of our hero. I agree with the nishan-e-imtiaz or any other/ higher award. Dont understand why robbers dnt understand that human life is such a sacred thing what did they get no loot and now they wud be jailed for attempted robbery and murder as well.
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The robbers caught should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!
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May Allah bless him and provide strength to his family
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May Allah bless him and reward him for he passed away in the line of duty with bravery and courage !
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A real soldier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May Allah bless his soul & Its moral duty of DHA, State & the owner of the house being robbed to make sure his family does not face any financial problems.
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He will be remembered for his bravery pride of his profession, his family will feel proud to be associated with him.Recommend
A true reflection of what Pakistan really is. People like these make you feel proud to be a Pakistani.
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@Salman:
…May (God rest his soul in peace) and strong text*strong text*DHA should really take care of his widow and children.
strong textThe least they can do is make sure the widow receives the salary till her life and the children should be given 100% scholarships at the DHA Institutions.
strong text*strong text* ——– This is what can be done and must be done , let’s demand and see this done and leave Allah / God alone, He really knows His job and doesn’t need any of us for guidance.
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I salute him with honour & dignity that May He Rest in Peace :)
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May Allah bless him with peace and give him place in Jana tul firdos, aamin
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Rest in Peace Zafar sahib!
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Very,very brave man, and why?, because he served in the PAKARMY, where the fear of enemy, bullets and guns is wiped out from your mind and body.
However, I too live in DHA, and have myself seen the DHA Vigilance, they are not allowed to carry arms and ammunition, which I would like to see them do, especially after the above mentioned incident.
What do the so called robbers have, that they are able to mug, rape and rob innocent hardworking folks, an extra pair of legs, hands, or do they have another brain in their butts, NO!, all they have is the bullet firing thing in their hands, which certainly gives death to anybody who gets in its way. NUFF’ SAID.
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Long Live Pakistan Army.. another son of the soil drenched our soil with a martyr’s blood.. May Allah give him ajar for the supreme sacrifice…
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we need more “heroes” like him . Rest in peace sir
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Wow.It is people like these that make me a proud Pakistani.You sir,are a legend and may ALLAH bless your soul.
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May Allah bless him and provide strength and forebearance to his family for this irrepairable loss.A brave act performed by the SHAHEED.
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The robbers need to be hung in a public square for committing murder.
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Now thats what you call a hero…8 bullets in his aging body and he still fought…**respect**Recommend
Of corse he is a real hero. May Allah bless his soul. The owner and DHA should both, now think about the inspector’s family. You dont get to see such people often these days.
Salam Zafar Iqbal !
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May Allah bless his soul in eternal peace.
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We salute him and his commitment and bravery. He is a true soldier of Pakistan and Pakistan Army. Thank you brother for your sacrifices. You would live in our hearts forever.
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its because of brave and faithful people like Shaheed Zafar Iqbal that people can have a goodnight sleep . May his soul rest in peace .
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Great loss to the nation as Pakistan is extremely short of such brave people. His family should be properly looked after by not the govt (which will do nothing) but us all.
May Allah bless him and give peace to his family and us all. A great loss!
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He was retired subedar of Pakistan army, thats why I respect army over these so called democratic politicians. Salute for that Brave man, May Allah bless you with highest place for shaheed’s in Jannah
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Indeed a self example by this brave shaheed. He is a real brave person of this soil & total commitment to his duty, which he learnt in Pak Army. May ALLAH (SWT) bless him & give peace to his family. At the same time it’s duty of the DHA authorities & the residents of the DHA to pay him tribute financially by supporting his family.
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Salutes!
He was a real hero and son of the soil.
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This person should get the highest reward that can be given to civilian for bravery
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He doesn’t need your thanks or your well wishes for his family my friends. His family, which has lost its breadwinner, won’t be able to feed off your thanks. If you really honor him, and you really feel he sacrificed himself for you, you would all in turn sacrifice for him. If you don’t, you’re an insult to humanity. I request all DHA Karachi residents (or at least Phase 4 residents) to donate anywhere between 5,000rs to 10,000rs for the family of Zafar Iqbal. One donation per house, it’s not much, it’s the cost of one kurta or suit for you, but for his family, when it all accumulates, it will be the difference between a dignified survival and destitution. Please, forget what the “authorities” give them, you all know you can afford to help him, don’t turn your back on this man who gave his life protecting you.
You all owe that to Zafar Iqbal.
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A true example of bravery, May this Shaheed rest in peace.
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There is no denying the courage of this man or undermining his will to do the right thing. One just hopes that DHA would train it’s vigilance team in proper tactics to counter such crime rather than expecting unarmed vigilance team members to tackle armed robbers.
This wanton display of courage can also be viewed as a failure of using police techniques that are developed to both apprehend the robbers and safe guard law enforcers – such as waiting for backup, properly evaluating the scene and hence not running into a trap, demanding surrender of weapons before apprehending a suspect.
May God grant the departed a place in heaven.
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My Salute to his hero and DHA should take care of his kids and widow and Govt. should award the deceased nishan-e-imtiaz.
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May Allah rest his soul in peace.
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A very grave man. We must all help his family.THE NATION SHOULD BE PROUD OF SUCH BRAVE AND DUTIFUL MEN.
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may Allah grant him peace and make us all recognize our responsibilities and give us commitment and dedication like Zafar SahbRecommend
Salute !
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May his soul rest in peace.
Ameen.
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Probably Pakistan is only surviving only due to few men like him! We salute you, Sir. DHA should look after the family of the deceased hero.
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He has performed his duties more than his capacity and his legal heirs must be fully rewarded by DHA. May God bless his soul. Aameen
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A Real True Hero
That’s the training of all Pakistan Army soldiers
Sad to lose such honest son of soil but really happy for him as he embraced Shahadat. A gift few lucky individuals get.
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I salute his Bravery and Courage. but I can bet, His robbers shall be freed by our Honorable court.
couple of months ago, a robber who killed a house wife during dacoity was sentenced to six months imprisonment. what a conviction.
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Surely, we belong to Allah and return to Him. May his soul rest in eternal peace & give his family to bear this irreparable loss. Aameen.
Shaheed Zafar Iqbal is a shining example. The concerned authorities must bestow an Award truly deserved by him. We must acknowledge good deeds of such great people.
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Brave Man. May Allah Rest his soul in Peace.
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Mr. Mirza (the writer) – Can you please get the bank account information of his family and post it here. That will enable us to help them to some extent. Many Thanks!
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The poor lowly paid jawans are the real heros who risk their lives everyday. Nobody is against these jawans who are the backbone of Pakistan. The problem is the big fat cats not the poor and brave jawans.
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So proud. Heart bleeds for him. Sadly this is the fate of honest brave men in Pakistan these days. Long live zafar iqbal.
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Rest in peace buddy. With people like you around there is still a hope for us Pakistanis.
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Pakistan is deeply in need of men like Zafar. Hats off to this man, he is a real hero, may his soul rest in peace.
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Brave hero. True Shahadat not the Shahadat that is inscribed on walls. I want to make it clear to all who have commented or will comment that these robbers will walk freely. There is no justice in Pakistan, no law whatsoever. Do you all really expect the judiciary to give the robbers the right sentence. Yeah we all have been waiting for 65 years. Istagfarullah.Recommend
The robbers should not be kept alive because im pretty sure they will be granted bail by paying a small fine and in this way, they won’t learn anything and continue to do what they do best. They should be punished in order to send a message to others having this intention of raiding houses in the future
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I wil request DHA to give all such families 10 lac. Plus monthly pay till youngest kid is of 21.Recommend
Would appreciate if I can get the account number for zafar Iqbal. As someone said by just paying tribute won’t help his family. As a human being and one who has suffered a loss himself. I can understand. Kindly provide the details
Regards
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Pakistan needs such brave people. May God rest his soul in peace and give strenght to his family. Ameen!
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@ DHA
Please post the contact details of the Shaheeds family so that all the people who want to help them can get in touch with them.
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I am speechless. This man’s actions are selfless. I need to find out to help his family.
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May Allah bless his soul and give him highest place in paradise. Ameen. True hero and honest to his duty.
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Surely a brave and dutiful man… rest in peace.. may Allah grant him highest place in jannah.
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What a brave man…..May Allah bless his soul…..this is how we should perform our duties…
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I salute you Shaheed Zafar Iqbal. May Allah the Almighty bless his soul and May he give him a place in Jannat and give strenght and courage to his family for such a Great loss. Ameen.
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Rue Pakistani soldier from the Punjab. Fearless and dedicated. Pakistan Zindabad.
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