ATTOCK, Oct 2: The alleged ringleader of an Afghan gang of car lifters was killed in an encounter with the National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP) on the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) on Wednesday.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) NHMP Wisal Fakhar Sultan said the Islamabad Traffic Police sent a message to the motorway police stating that a car had been jacked from Sector I-9 in Islamabad.

All patrolling officials on the motorway were subsequently alerted.

A patrolling team later spotted the stolen vehicle on M-1 and signaled its driver to stop. However, the driver, along with two others, increased the speed while attempting to escape.

The NHMP patrol team chased the accused and the latter started firing at the team. In retaliation, the officials also fired shots which caused the vehicle’s tyre to burst near Bahtar.

The accused continued firing during which an Afghan, Mohammad Masood, was killed, the DIG said, adding that the remaining two managed to escape after abandoning the vehicle.

The vehicle was later impounded, and a 30-bore pistol along with bullets was recovered.

The Bahtar police shifted the body to the hospital and have registered a case against the gang on the report of NHMP officials. GANG BUSTED: Meanwhile, the Attock City police on Wednesday claimed arresting four alleged car lifters including a police commando of the Peshawar Police.

District Police Spokesman Zulfiqar Khan said a local resident, Tahir Mehmood Ghauri, informed the police on Tuesday night that his car had been lifted from outside his house.

The police then placed barriers at all exit points, and the police on Wednesday morning spotted the car being towed by a van near the Attock-Kamra Road.

The police then arrested the four people present in the two vehicles and also recovered a 30-bore pistol.

The accused were identified as Haider Ali, a police commando of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sarfraz Khan, residents of Peshawar, Shehnaz Bibi and Sheemah Bibi (both residents of Attock).

During interrogation, the police found that the car was being shifted to KP. They registered a vehicle theft case against the accused and started further investigations.