Police grill main suspect in woman ‘kidnapping’ case

Official says travel history shows US-Pakistani citizen still in country

RAWALPINDI:

The main suspect in the alleged kidnapping of a US-Pakistani woman has become part of the investigation.

Sources said that police have completed the initial investigation with the suspect, Rizwan Habib.

According to the sources, the Morgah police have delayed the arrest of the suspect until they have concrete evidence against him surfaced.

According to the travel history, Wajiha Farooq did not return to the US from any airport in Pakistan. The police will carry out raids in different areas today to recover the victim.

A senior police official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the suspect nominated in the FIR has become part of the investigation.

He said that the initial investigation with the suspect has been completed, however, it has been decided not to arrest him until concrete evidence was found against him. The police official said that the travel history of the victim showed she didn’t fly back to the US from Pakistan.

The victim was supposed to fly to the US on October 22 from Islamabad International Airport (IIA) via Britain. However, the record showed the victim did not board the flight, and she was still in Pakistan.

Read 4 Forest Dept employees kidnapped in Bannu

The police official said they also tried to trace the number provided by the attorney of the plaintiff, however, it was found that she never used the number in Pakistan.

He said the police teams will conduct raids in different areas to recover the dual national.

The police official said that no one from the family of Wajiha Farooq has become part of the investigation so far, neither the police have been provided with any kind of documents yet.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench has also given a week to the Morgah police to recover the kidnapped victim.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2021.