Missing Abbottabad medic found murdered

Three suspects, including victim's friend, arrested; principal accused still at large

ABBOTTABAD:

The body of Dr Warda Mushtaq, who had been missing from Abbottabad since Thursday, was recovered on Monday from the forested slopes of Thandiyani, the police confirmed. Police believe greed for the gold became the motive behind the crime.

Abbottabad District Police Officer (DPO) Haroon Rasheed, addressing an urgently convened press conference, said three suspects had been arrested while the principal accused remained at large.

Dr Warda, a medical officer at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital, had been abducted four days earlier. Her body was discovered buried deep inside a ravine in Lari Banota, Thandiyani. Owing to the depth of the ditch, the recovery operation, supervised by senior police officials, took more than six hours. Following a post-mortem examination at DHQ Hospital, the remains were handed over to her grieving father.

Initial investigations revealed that the doctor had left the hospital with her friend Rida, intending to retrieve 67 tolas of gold she had entrusted to her in 2023 before travelling to Dubai. CCTV footage later confirmed that Dr Warda was last seen with Rida at Jadoon Plaza, after which she vanished.

Police swiftly detained Rida, her husband Waheed Ahmed, and Dr Warda's driver. On the complaint of the doctor's father, Mushtaq Ahmed, a case under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered against the couple and unidentified accomplices. In his statement, he said his daughter had repeatedly asked Rida to return the gold, but her friend had continued to evade her.

Rida subsequently submitted an application to the police claiming she had already returned the gold at Jadoon Plaza, alleging instead that Dr Warda owed her Rs8.3 million, secured by cheques from Faisal Bank. She maintained that her family was being wrongly implicated.

DPO Rasheed explained that on December 4, Rida had lured the doctor out of the hospital under the pretext of returning the gold and transported her to an under-construction property in Rehman Street, Jadoon Plaza. There, the abductors - identified as Shamraiz, Nadeem and Pervez - were waiting. Rida allegedly handed the victim over before leaving the scene.

Utilising CCTV footage, mobile records and technical data, police interrogated more than 35 individuals and conducted extensive raids across Abbottabad and Peshawar.

They arrested Rida Jadoon, Nadeem Zeb, and Pervez, while special teams remain deployed to apprehend the prime suspect, Shamraiz. During interrogation, the arrested men confessed to abducting and murdering Dr Warda and burying her in the Lari Banota forest. They later guided police to the burial site.

Police have seized the vehicles used in the crime, along with stamp papers and cheques believed to be connected with the gold dispute. Forensic, post-mortem and site inspection reports are being processed on priority. The DPO vowed that all perpetrators would face the full force of the law.

Hazara DIG Nasir Mehmood Satti, after meeting the bereaved family, described the incident as "deeply tragic" and assured them of full cooperation. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General, Zulfiqar Hameed, is personally supervising the investigation, and a special inquiry team has been constituted.

Confirmation of the murder sparked widespread outrage. Doctors, nurses and paramedics at Benazir Shaheed Hospital suspended services and marched to Fawara Chowk, where they blocked the Karakoram Highway and demanded exemplary punishment and inclusion of anti-terrorism charges. Civil society members later joined the protest. Attempts by the Abbottabad Deputy Commissioner to address the demonstrators were met with hostility.

Doctors' associations have announced a province-wide strike beginning tomorrow. The investigation continues, with authorities pledging to bring every perpetrator and facilitator to justice.