Prominent trader slain in capital market

Special team has been formed to conduct the investigation

ISLAMABAD:

In a shocking incident at the Islamabad vegetable and fruit market, 65-year-old Safdar Siddique, a prominent trader, market president, and labour leader, fell victim to an armed attack immediately after the conclusion of a bidding process.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspects, yet to be identified, may be former Afghan employees of Siddique. Law enforcement authorities have swiftly formed a special team to apprehend the accused, expressing confidence in their imminent arrest.

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Shazil Safdar, Siddique’s son, provided a harrowing account to the police, recounting that after participating in the auction and selling tomatoes, two individuals in their twenties, clad in shalwar kameez, intercepted them on a motorcycle. Without warning, one of them shot Siddique in the head before fleeing towards the metro. Shazil expressed confidence in identifying the assailants.

Despite the police registering a murder case, the suspects remain at large. A senior capital police officer suggested that Siddique’s murder is believed to be orchestrated by former Afghan employees, as indicated by preliminary inquiries.

It has surfaced that Siddique had concerns about his security, facing ongoing death threats, although he never formally reported these concerns to the Sabzi Mandi police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2023.