Pakistan demands Dawar’s murder probe as body being returned to country

Afghan ministry says service card also found on body; Pakistan demands probe

PESHAWAR: Pakistan has demanded of the Afghan authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the martyrdom of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar, whose body was found from Nangarhar province.

“The service card of SP Dawar was found along with the body,” the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Foreign Office on Wednesday, confirming it was him.

SP Dawar was abducted by unidentified persons from the F-10 area of Islamabad on October 26 while he was taking a walk. It is said that at the time of abduction he was not carrying his service pistol nor had any security.



According to the Foreign Office, the Afghan ministry informed the Pakistan consulate in Kabul that locals of Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan found the body, which had a service card on it.

The body has been handed over to the Pakistan consulate in Jalalabad and after completion of paperwork the body would be brought to Pakistan via the Torkham border.

After his abduction on October 28, a case was lodged with the Islamabad Ramna police station and an investigation team was formed to find the missing SP. It was led by two federal police SPs.

The team was unable to find any workable clue till Tuesday morning, but on the same evening pictures of Dawar being killed in Afghanistan went viral on social media. However, the high-ups did not confirm the news.

The only lead the investigation team had was SP Dawar’s last location from where he was abducted - in front of F-10, Islamabad.

Islamabad police conducted many raids at different localities but all in vain.

Due to SP Dawar’s operation against militants in Bannu, he had received his share of death threats.

On Wednesday, FO spokesperson said that Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed finding the body of SP Dawar.
Dr Muhammad Faisal said, “SP Dawar’s body was found by the locals of Dur Baba district in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The Afghan ministry has informed the Pakistan Consulate about the body.”

The spokesperson said, “The service card of Dawar was also found on the body.”

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) authorities have been waiting since Tuesday for the body of SP Dawar to arrive.
Afghan envoy to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal told reporters in Peshawar that he was not aware of the police official’s killing nor had the Pakistani government contacted him in this regard.

“I know about the media reports like all of you but it is worrisome that an officer is kidnapped from Islamabad and then his body is found in Nangarhar, Afghanistan,” he said.

Reports from Afghanistan reaching the tribal areas suggested that IS militants tortured and killed SP Dawar.

He was also injured in encounters with TTP militants in Bannu and served in the United Nations twice.